Forest Fire
by Viper Inferno
Summary: The Sailor Senshi take on original Dark Kingdom villain Titanius in an action-packed, comic showdown. Meanwhile, Hino Kyodai and Kino Makoto kick it off in a relationship of admiration. Sequel to Five-Alarm Fire
1. Part I

Title: Forest Fire - Part I

Author: Viper Inferno

Genre: Action Drama

Rated: PG for violence and mild adult language

Author's Notes: I recommend reading Brother of Fire and Five-Alarm Fire before reading this fanfic, since they are part of a series and provide quite a bit of the background for this fanfic.

* * *

**Forest Fire**

_By Viper Inferno_

Part I

"Umm...may I have this dance?" a beautiful young lady asked, holding one hand out to him with her other hand at her chest.

"Certainly," Kyodai replied, taking the young lady's hand into his. He then casually led her to the vast dance floor, joining a multitude of other couples under the majestic scenery. Once out in the middle of the dance floor for all to see, Kyodai turned to face the young woman and gently slid his hand around her waist, holding her gently on the small of her back. The woman, in response, placed her free arm over Kyodai's shoulder. And there they stood, Kyodai gazing into her baby blue eyes and her gazing into his deep purple eyes, as they awaited the band.

Moments later, the band began a small prelude, the serene melody of the concert grand piano filling the great hall of the majestic palace. After a few bars into the prelude, Kyodai led the beautiful young lady into a slow and gentle dance. And then the saxophone began to play a gentle ocean-inspired number as Kyodai slowed his pace and drew the young lady in closer to him. He felt not only the tension he was feeling during their dance, but also the nervousness emanating from his beautiful dance partner. But it was when the young lady herself relaxed her body and let herself be led into his dance that Kyodai himself relaxed his own body. "You dance well," she said, as if she wasn't paying attention to the tension from his body.

"Why thank you, Princess," he replied as he relaxed his dancing even more, letting his body sway effortlessly to the beautiful jazz piece. Throughout the song, the couple swayed slowly and freely like a palm tree in the gentle breeze. And it was when the song rose into a brilliant crescendo that Kyodai let his beautiful partner go and twirled her to the rhythm of the crescendo. As the song calmed down, the young lady threw herself into her dance partner, her arm landing perfectly over his shoulder as they continued their slow dance, not even missing a beat.

As the song ended, the couple once again gazed into each other's eyes and merely stood in the middle of the dance floor as mild applause and even a few whistles filled the great hall. Some couples left the vast dance floor and others joined the groups that were still standing. "I mean it, you really are a great dancer," the young woman commented, her gentle voice barely above a whisper.

"Thank you, Princess," he replied, his eyes not averting from hers, "My sister and I have both been practicing for years."

"I can tell," she replied with the same gentle voice, "So find me, my Prince of Mars."

"But you're right here, in my arms and gazing into my eyes," he replied. However, upon closer inspection of the princess standing before him, her hand in his and her other arm around his neck, the only feature that stood out was her beautiful blue eyes.

"I am out there, somewhere. Let your heart guide you, my Prince of Mars, for it knows when you've found me. Wherever you go, wherever you search in the world, no matter how difficult the journey, if you search... your heart will guide you to me... and where it guides you... I will be waiting for you... I promise," she said with her voice echoing as she, the other dancers, the dance floor, and then finally the vast great hall all slowly disappeared into darkness.

Suddenly, Kyodai's eyes popped wide open. He gazed straight ahead for a moment, not even averting his eyes. He picked out only a few features, the nightstand and his dresser some short distance from him. A few red lights caught his attention, so he turned his head toward them to investigate. However, he discovered that it was only his alarm clock, reading 6:53am. It was then that he concluded that he was lying on his bed in his room, back at the Hikawa Jinja. It was morning, with the sun barely peaking over the horizon. With what little light that was creeping into his room through his curtains, Kyodai tossed the sheets off of his body and swung his feet off the bed and to the hard wooden floor. His alarm clock wasn't set to go off for another 7 minutes, so Kyodai decided that it was time to get up. He reached for his alarm clock to shut the alarm off.

"Another dream," he said to himself, "I haven't had one of these in a few weeks. But who is that princess, and how do I know when I've found her?"

Pondering that question, Kyodai stood from his bed, wearing only his boxers, and lumbered over to his dresser. There, he opened one of the drawers and removed a large towel and tossed it over his shoulder. 'Why only now do I start having this dream again?' he thought to himself as he walked to his door and slid it open.

"Good morning, Kyodai," a man's voice greeted. Kyodai slowly gazed to his left to find Gabianni already in his light blue and white shrine worker's kimono, looking bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

"Good morning," he muttered.

"Are you just now waking up?" Gabianni wondered, somewhat dumbfounded at Kyodai's rather lack of energy compared to his.

"It's almost 7, and it's Sunday, of course I'm just now getting up," Kyodai replied, "Why are you awake so early?"

"Hey, someone has to cook breakfast," Gabianni replied, "Yuuichirou's awake too, going through some of Grandpa's pre-breakfast training."

Kyodai hung his head with a sweat drop hanging at the sound of everyone seemingly being awake at this early hour. "Am I the last one awake?" Kyodai grumbled.

"Not quite, Rei-san's still asleep and I just now woke Romano up for his morning chores," Gabianni replied.

"Uh-huh," Kyodai grunted as he turned to walk toward the bathroom, "I'm gonna take a shower."

"Okay, don't use up all the hot water," Gabianni poked, "You know how your sister is about that."

Kyodai merely grunted in response as he continued his trek toward the bathroom. 'He's as bad as Rei sometimes,' he thought to himself. With Gabianni gone, thoughts about his dream reentered his mind. But as he entered the bathroom, thoughts of not only the dream, but also of a certain cute young blonde began cumulating in his mind. 'I could've sworn I'd seen someone like Minako in my dreams somewhere before,' he thought to himself as he turned the shower on, 'Back then, it was hard telling if she was the Princess or one of the other dancers in my dream.'

With the steam beginning to billow from the shower, Kyodai adjusted the temperature to one that was pleasingly warm to the touch and then stepped inside. He then stood under the shower head, letting the water cascade down his long raven-black hair and down his body to the shower floor, and closed his eyes. 'But somehow, my heart still hasn't told me if I've found the Princess,' Kyodai thought to himself as images of the beautiful blonde with the cute red bow in her hair flashed in his mind. At that thought, Kyodai only let out a discontented sigh, 'Then again, Minako's the first girl I've dated in over 8 months, since before I started at the Azabu Institute of Technology. So maybe my heart won't know quite yet.'

Sounds of doors sliding open and shut in the hallway broke Kyodai from his trance, prompting him to open his eyes. He quickly grabbed the shampoo and lathered up his hair, then grabbed the bar of soap and began washing himself. He figured he had better finish before Rei started complaining about him taking too long in the shower. Besides, she and possibly even Romano probably wanted the shower as well, so Kyodai had to be considerate. "Damn, I can't let these thoughts run away like this," Kyodai said to himself as he continued with his shower.

Moments later, as Kyodai shut the water off and stepped out of the shower, there was a knock at the door. "Kyodai-san, can you hurry up? I need a shower too before I start my morning chores," Romano's voice called through the closed door.

"I'll be out in a moment," Kyodai replied as he began drying himself off.

Moments later, after having finished his shower and gotten dressed, wearing his Azabu Tech Soccer t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans, Kyodai emerged from his room. After having settled down from his hurry to get out of the bathroom so Romano could take his shower, the same thoughts of both his recent dream and Minako reentered his mind. With those thoughts on his mind, he slowly walked into the living room and sat on couch. He rested his arms on the seat backs, rested his head back, closed his eyes, and let the thoughts roam through his mind. However, it wasn't the dream that flowed through his mind, but thoughts of Minako. He reminisced on the many moments he had spent with her. First, memories of their first date appeared in his mind. He remembered seeing "Fantasy Gardens" with her, and his nervousness around her, yet their first date was cut short by his duty as Tuxedo Inferno. However, they ended it on good terms and went on to date again a week later.

He then remembered their time together at the park and their journey though a jam-packed mall. Shopping with a girl was usually a drag, especially if that girl was his younger sister and especially the last girl he dated before Minako. But shopping with the right girl made it a wonderful experience, and that was how his shopping trip with Minako was. Even though that trip was also cut short by his duties as Tuxedo Inferno and whatever Minako had to take care of, they continued their date as if nothing had happened. In addition, remembered just how absolutely drop-dead gorgeous Minako looked in that ivory halter dress that she had shown off to him. He had never seen a girl as absolutely dazzling as Minako had looked at that moment. It was a moment that would forever remain in his memory. And to top that day off, they went to the crown jewel of their date, a romantic movie called "The Starlight Warrior". It was their first movie that they had actually enjoyed together in full. Afterward, they sealed that date with a passionate kiss, putting behind it even more energy than during their first date.

The girl even came to a few of Kyodai's soccer practices after she herself had gotten out of class. He remembered Minako cheering him on during practice, and the loving embraces she had given him after he had concluded practice, albeit after he had showered and everything. As much as he thought about her, comparing those thoughts with his dream yielded no conclusions. Somehow, his heart hadn't told him that he had found his princess. And more than that, those thoughts about Minako only drew a gloomy look on his face. All those thoughts were just mere thoughts, only memories. "Kyodai?"

The sound of his name broke him from his trance. He quickly concluded that the voice was that of a girl, and Rei was the only girl living at the Hikawa Jinja, and only girl who didn't use an honorific when addressing him. He opened his eyes tilted his head forward to find Rei, already wide-awake and dressed in her red and white miko kimono, wearing a troubled look on her face seemingly mirroring his. "What's wrong, Kyodai?" She asked as she walked over to him and sat on the couch next to him, "What's with the gloomy look on your face? I haven't seen that look on your face since long before you moved back here."

Kyodai closed his eyes again, not wanting to really tell Rei anything about the thoughts roaming through his mind, especially of the dream that he had. But it was Rei leaning back into his arm rested on the back of the couch that drew a sigh from him. "Kyodai, you know you can't hide things from me very well," Rei said, "Something happened, I know it."

'No use hiding it from her,' Kyodai thought to himself, 'She'll just poke and prod until I give in. I might as well tell her.' If anyone could draw Kyodai out of his shell and make him spill his guts, it was Rei. "Minako and I broke up," he replied to her.

"Oh no, I'm sorry," Rei replied as she reached over her shoulder and took his hand into hers upon hearing the news. In response, Kyodai rested his arm on his sister's shoulders and gave her hand a gentle squeeze, acknowledging her caring touch. "What happened?" she asked.

"I don't really know. She kinda wanted us to be friends," Kyodai responded.

Rei let out a discontented sigh at Kyodai's response. 'That Minako,' she thought to herself, 'She wouldn't know a good boyfriend if he was practically giving her everything she ever wanted. God, she can be so childish sometimes, worse so than even Odango Atama.' She then gave Kyodai's hand a gentle squeeze before she spoke. "It's no wonder she always complains about having no boyfriend, she always dumps them," Rei commented.

"Yeah, she's also a bit of airhead too," Kyodai added. Right then, the last thoughts of both Minako and last night's dream entered his mind, drawing an instant conclusion, "Now that I look at her, she's not really all that my type."

"I also see why you hardly ever share your feelings with people, and why you turn down most girls who flock around you," Rei explained.

"Yeah," Kyodai sighed.

At the sound of that gloomy sigh, Rei let go of his hand and wrapped her arms around his chest, rested her head on his shoulder, and gave him a tight sisterly embrace. "Hey, at least you still have me," said Rei, trying to cheer her brother up.

"Yeah, to annoy me sometimes," Kyodai replied.

Rather than grimace at his comment, Rei only chuckled and tightened her embrace, "Well, at least your sense of humor's returned."

Recognizing her sisterly love, Kyodai wrapped his arm around her and held her, "Thank you, Rei-chan."

"You're welcome," Rei replied, "Other than annoy you, that's what else I'm here for. And you'll never lose me, either. I'll always be your little sister."

It was Rei's affection that summoned more thoughts in Kyodai's mind, this time of the bond he shared with Rei. It was the reason he had decided to move back to the Hikawa Jinja in the first place. He missed having a little sister around to annoy him, to tease him, and to lend him a shoulder if he ever needed it. And Rei was right, he would never lose her. Family was something one had for life. Sure, girlfriends and even wives were the greatest gift a man could ever have, but they can come and go. However, mothers and sisters and even cousins were girls that a man would always have, and always love. But that thought was broken as Rei had given him one last sisterly squeeze before letting him go and sitting back up. "You know, Makoto likes you," she said, breaking the silence.

"Humph, yeah, and I'm the Emperor of Japan," he sarcastically replied.

"Oh come on Kyodai, I think you two would make a cute couple," said Rei.

Although Kyodai was feeling better after a brief chat with his sister, he wasn't in the mood to be hearing of another girl that liked him. It wasn't that uncommon for a girl or even multiple girls to like him, nor was it uncommon for him to not pay much attention to their advances. So he stood up from the couch and walked across the living room to grab his car keys.

"Where are you going?" Rei asked, confused over Kyodai's sudden action.

"Driving to Mamoru's place," Kyodai replied as he walked toward the front door and slid his tennis shoes on. He then looked back and gave his sister a slight smile, "Thanks for cheering me up, Rei-chan. See 'ya,"

"You're welcome, Kyodai," Rei replied, "Don't worry about your chores. I'll have Gabianni cover for you." After Kyodai had left, Rei hung her head in defeat. 'Oh I feel so guilty,' she thought to herself, 'It's too early to be trying to get Kyodai and Makoto together.' She let out a sigh, then stood from the couch and began walking toward the worship room to begin her weekly fire reading.

_Mamoru's Apartment..._

After a short drive from the Hikawa Jinja and through the Azabu district, Kyodai arrived at Mamoru's rather nice apartment complex. Although he had been to Mamoru's apartment a number of times over the years, it was actually his first trip there since he had moved out of the dorms and in with his sister at the Hikawa Jinja. And since it had been a while since his last visit, Kyodai wondered how Mamoru was doing at home with school and everything. So Kyodai entered the elevator and pressed the button to go up to Mamoru's floor.

Moments later, the elevator arrived at Mamoru's floor and the elevator door opened, revealing a neighbor of Mamoru's that Kyodai had recognized. "Good morning, Hino-san," the older gentleman greeted.

"Ahh, good morning, Tatsuke-san," Kyodai replied as he walked out of the elevator and toward Mamoru's apartment. Once he arrived, he knocked on the door.

"Hold on a second," Mamoru's voice sounded from inside. While waiting, Kyodai checked his watch, reading 8:45am. 'At least Mamoru's up,' Kyodai thought to himself. Seconds later, the door opened, revealing Mamoru wearing a white short-sleeve button-up and khaki slacks. "Ahhh, Good Morning, Kyodai-kun. It's a pleasure having you visit this morning," he greeted.

"Good Morning, Mamoru-kun," Kyodai replied.

"Please, come on in," said Mamoru, opening the door wider and waving Kyodai in. Kyodai accepted the offer and walked inside Mamoru's rather neatly organized apartment. The end pillows on his couch were neatly placed at the corners. His coffee table had only a single closed textbook on it, with the tablecloth set perfectly in the middle. Not a single piece of clothing, clean or dirty, was found anywhere in his living room. In addition, his kitchen was perfectly clean, with only a few pots and pans hanging over the bar between the kitchen and living room. This cleanliness astonished even Kyodai.

"Wow, I don't think that even Makoto-san's apartment is as clean," he commented.

"Yeah, but it wasn't always this way," Mamoru replied, "I just got tired of a messy home, so I got rid of a lot of old stuff and other junk and threw them out by the dumpster."

"Hey, it's good to give to the needy," Kyodai joked, "Now some homeless guy will have plenty of stuff to use as wall furniture."

"Really funny," Mamoru sarcastically replied, "So, what's up?"

"I'm bored," said Kyodai in a deep and quiet voice.

"It's Sunday. Why don't you go with that Minako girl that I've been seeing you with?" suggested Mamoru.

"Ummm... we sort of broke up yesterday," said Kyodai as he sat on Mamoru's couch.

"That's too bad," said Mamoru as he sat on his knees before his coffee table, opposite of Kyodai, "What happened?"

"I don't know. We were supposed to get together after her half-day of classes yesterday. And when we met up, she said that she just wanted to be friends," Kyodai explained.

Mamoru thought about Kyodai's words for a moment, piecing together everything he had just said. In addition, he remembered everything Kyodai had told him about their dating, what few times he did. "It sounds like she got tired of you. No wonder she complains as much as Odango Atama," said Mamoru, reminding himself of the crybaby Usagi.

"How would she have gotten tired of me? Was it something I did wrong?" Kyodai wondered.

"I don't think it was anything you did wrong at all," Mamoru replied, "It sounds to me like she's the type who is guy crazy, will go for any cute guy, and likes to play the field. Girls like her aren't really the kind for guys like us. We need a more sophisticated girl."

"I agree with you there," said Kyodai, "In a way, she's a lot like Ariana. She's a bit of a klutz and extremely bubbly. She does have her tender and romantic moments, but I don't sense much in the way of sophistication from her, nor do I really sense much of a serious side in her. If she has that, then she's doing a good job of hiding it."

"Don't worry about her. I'm sure you'll find you a nice girl someday," said Mamoru, cheering his friend up.

"Yeah, perhaps," Kyodai replied, with thoughts of his recent dream about the princess once again entering his mind. 'I'll find you someday, my Princess,' he thought to himself. But that thought quickly died as another thought suddenly came to his mind, one that could break him of both his loss of Minako and his boredom. "Hey Mamoru-kun, you wanna go to Crown's?" he asked.

"Sure, maybe I can actually beat you at Sailor V this time. I just hope Motoki-kun is working today so he can watch," Mamoru said with enthusiasm, "Whose car are we taking? Yours or mine?"

"Mine," Kyodai replied, "I like driving."

With a newfound purpose, Kyodai rose from the couch and walked toward the front door with Mamoru. Once out of the apartment building, they walked through the parking lot toward Kyodai's car. "You'll have to tell me when you decide on a sports car to get," said Mamoru as they arrived at Kyodai's old coupe.

"Oh I will. I can't have you being the only one with a sports car," Kyodai replied. And with that, both men hopped into Kyodai's car and drove off toward the Game Center Crown.

_Juuban Park, 3 hours later..._

In the vast Juuban Park, Usagi and Makoto were walking the trail alongside lake, sharing their Sunday together after Usagi had spent the night at Makoto's after their half-day at school. Makoto had cooked a fine breakfast to share with Usagi, only to have her gobble it all up like she had been fasting for a week. Afterward, they had decided to spend the day out and about the Juuban District. They had only recently arrived at the park after having done some browsing at the Juuban Shopping Center. It was there that they enjoyed the more natural surroundings of the park. Many ducks were swimming in the vast lake, quacking to each other in a rather pleasant conversation. Many people were also spending their Sunday at the park. Some were junior high and high school students enjoying their Sunday off from school, while others were college students enjoying their days off from classes and mothers and their children enjoying the beautiful weather.

"Hey Mako-chan," said Usagi, getting her attention, "Minako-chan and Kyodai-san broke up yesterday."

"Really?" Makoto replied, her eyebrows rising in response to the news.

"Yeah, I bumped into her while you were at the cooking store. She told me about it," Usagi replied.

With that news, confirmed by Usagi hearing straight from the horse's mouth, Makoto lowered her eyebrows and smiled at the news. 'Yes, he's free game now,' she thought to herself. But she quickly erased her devious look from her face before Usagi could see it. "That's too bad," she replied, "What happened?"

"Well, I don't know all the details, but all she told me was that she just wanted her and Kyodai to be friends," Usagi explained.

Makoto turned her face away from Usagi, trying hard to not smile at Usagi was saying. 'That Minako,' she thought to herself, 'I bet she probably found herself another guy to ogle at. She was always the guy-crazy type, going after any guy who gave her attention or mentioned that they were a Sailor V fan. As for me, at least I'm fixated on who I want. And right now, he's free game. Minako-chan, you're my friend and I like you a lot, but you have no idea who you just dumped.' She then turned back to Usagi, "I see. So what would possess her to leave a guy who's been good to her from what she's been boasting about?"

"Oh come on Mako-chan, I know you like him," said Usagi, not being fooled by Makoto's masking of her feelings.

"Well, I won't lie, of course I like him. Besides, didn't I tell you that she'd get tired of him?" Makoto said evasively.

"Yes. I didn't believe you at first, knowing that you and Minako both liked him, but I guess you were right after all," Usagi said, laughing out loud. After a brief laughter at being proved wrong, she then let out a discontented sigh, "And here I am, stuck trying to get my own boyfriend."

"Like Mamoru-san?" said Makoto, teasing her friend with a wink.

Usagi's face quickly flared up and turned red at Makoto's mentioning of the very man who has done nothing but bully her, insult her hair style, ridicule her for her low test scores, and scold her for all her klutzy moments at which he was the receiving end. She clinched her fists at Makoto's comment, but reality quickly set in. 'What am I doing? I can't hit a girl who's bigger and stronger than I am, and one who is my friend too. Besides, she's right. Oh, why did I have to fall in love with such a bully who says nothing but mean things to me.' Her face quickly regained her normal color as she let out another sigh, "Yeah, like Mamoru. And I know you say Kyodai looks like your old boyfriend. But doesn't every cute guy you come across remind you of your old boyfriend?"

Makoto merely starred off toward the horizon, pretending to listen to Usagi's response to her previous question. 'Hino Kyodai, he's such a neat guy. He's handsome, he's smart, he likes cooking, he's good to the ladies, and he's a star soccer player too. Oh how I wanna be in his arms, to cuddle with him, to look into his dark purple eyes and kiss his lips..."

"Hello," said Usagi, trying to get Makoto's attention. However, Usagi's beckoning fell on deaf ears as Makoto didn't even twitch, still starring off into space. "HELLO!" she summoned even louder, trying to make her words register in Makoto's spacey mind. But her attempt failed as Makoto continued starring. "Earth to Mako-chan, Hello?" Usagi beckoned, waving her hand in front of Makoto's face, hoping a visual stimulus would get her attention. But that attempt too failed to break her from her trance. So Usagi changed her tactics and cupped her hand over her mouth, "Houston, we have a problem."

"What?" said Makoto, breaking her train of thought.

"Oh, I just wanted to see if you were listening," said Usagi, "Now I know you were thinking about him just now. You must really like him."

Makoto couldn't take holding it back anymore and immediately burst out with it like she had just popped a cork off a champagne bottle, "Oh, he's so handsome, so athletic, and so good with women."

"You did say that he looked like your old boyfriend," said Usagi, repeating her comment from earlier in case Makoto had missed it when she was spaced out, "But doesn't every guy look like your old boyfriend"  
"Yeah, you have a point there, I did say that," Makoto replied, "But it's different with Kyodai. Where as different things with different guys reminded me of the guy who broke my heart, I actually got to witness much of what Kyodai was like... even if it was coming from Minako. I mean, he treated her like she was a lady, he was a gentleman, he showed her some good times, he drove her around in his car..." She then paused for a second as she took in a breath of air in sheer delight, and then recomposed herself. "But I meant it when I wondered what possessed her to leave him in the first place. I certainly wouldn't leave a great guy like that, and I'm sure you wouldn't either"  
"Yeah, you're right, Mako-chan," Usagi replied as she hung her head, once again thinking about not having a guy to dream about herself, other than that bully Mamoru. She then turned back to Makoto, "Well, you like him enough; you ought to go get him. You know, ask him out."

"I will," said Makoto, smiling and cocking an eyebrow, "He will be mine, oh yes he will." And with that thought, the two continued their walk along the lakeside trail, enjoying their day off from school together.

_The Dark Kingdom..._

Queen Beryl sat calmly at her throne with her many minions watching her as she waved her hands around her crystal ball as if it were involuntary muscle actions. But her many minions lining the walls of her throne room weren't the only ones watching. Two of her highest-ranked minions, Kunzite and her newly-acquired bounty hunter, Titanius, also stood before her as she projected a large image of the Juuban District in the Minato Ward of Tokyo in the air between them. But this wasn't just some sightseeing tour from the comfort of the Dark Kingdom, but rather a mission conjured up by Kunzite under Queen Beryl's approval. And it was there where the highest-ranked king and the bounty hunter studied their next potential battle ground.

"Just look at them," said Kunzite, referring to all the people mingling around at one of Juuban's schools, something rather unusual for a day off from school, "Now this is a rather nice gathering of people we have here."

Titanius had the image zoomed in a little closer and watched on as some of the girls were flirting with a few rather handsome young guys. "Yes, this school makes for perfect feeding grounds for my youma," Titanius replied.

"And when you send your youma in, the senshi will definitely show up, as always," said Kunzite.

"Of course they'll show up. They always show up whenever you or your other colleagues attack any part of this town," Titanius commented, "I'm actually counting on them to show up."

"I like your enthusiasm, Titanius," said Queen Beryl, "But do keep in mind that this is also an energy gathering mission. And those sailor senshi and especially that Sailor Moon have thwarted many of our attempts to gather energy for our great leader."

"I understand, Queen Beryl-sama," Titanius replied, giving her a polite bow, "That is why I'm using a youma for energy gathering and my own powers to take care of the Sailor Senshi and that Mars Prince when they do show up."

"Titanius, always the strategist," Queen Beryl commented.

"Well then, if all goes according to plan, the Sailor Senshi will definitely show up," said Kunzite.

"And then, I'll blast them," Titanius added as they both laughed profusely, their laughter echoing about the throne room and into the halls of the Dark Kingdom.

_Back at Juuban Park..._

Usagi and Makoto continued their walk along the lakeside trail. Very little was said between them since much of everything that was on their minds had already been said. So they merely enjoyed each other's company in the park as they walked the trail. However, their earlier conversation regarding guys still dominated their mind. Makoto has rather excited over her feelings for Kyodai. Usagi, on the other hand, had a gloomier aura about her as thoughts about not having a boyfriend dominated her mind. Usagi picked up a rock and tossed it into the lake, its splash scaring away a couple of nearby ducks. Makoto, on the other hand, picked up a rock and tossed it with a powerful yet graceful sidearm, skipping it quite a distance across the lake.

Usagi merely signed at not only Makoto's display of showing off, but also at her own thoughts about that mean guy named Mamoru. But then, an idea flashed in her head like a light bulb, "Hey Mako-chan, wanna go to Crown's?"

"Sure, it'll certainly get our minds off of guys for a while," said Makoto, knowing exactly what Usagi was thinking about. So the girls turned off the lakeside trail and made their way through the park toward the direction of Crown's arcade. But just as they stepped foot out of the park, both their communicators began beeping.

"I wonder that's going on," Usagi said as she was the first to reach her communicator. She pressed the button, and an image of a crescent-headed black cat appeared on the screen, "Yes Luna?"

"Usagi-chan, we have trouble up at Juuban Junior High," Luna began explaining, "There's a weird-looking youma resembling a sort of bird/tiger hybrid running amok about the school. And it's draining the peoples' energy."

"Awww... why can't they just let us have a day off," Usagi complained.

"Come on now, Usagi-chan. You know better than anyone else that the Dark Kingdom can attack at anytime," Luna reminded, "Just transform and get out there. I've already called the others."

"Well, Mako-chan's here with me, so she got your message. Anyway, we'll be there," said Usagi before she turned to Makoto, with a bit of a perplexed look on her face. "Juuban Junior High?! Our school?!" Usagi commented, "Why are there people at school? Isn't it Sunday?"

"Well, yes. But I did hear of some kind of youth baseball event they were having over at the junior high. So I bet there are tons of people there watching," Makoto replied.

"Well, we'd better do as Luna says and go over there," said Usagi as she grabbed her brooch from her pocket. But before she could she could utter her words of transformation, Makoto suddenly grabbed her wrist, preventing her from raising her brooch.

"Usagi-chan, wait!" said Makoto, "We can't transform here. There are too many people around. They'll see us."

"Yeah, you're right," said Usagi, hanging her head in defeat. But then she began looking around the park grounds for a good place to hide while they transform. Luckily, she spotted a covered picnic area with no people around to witness them. "We can transform over there," she said as she began running.

"Good idea," Makoto agreed as she followed Usagi. Once they reached their destination, they both quickly scanned around them to make sure no one was watching. With the coast clear, they raised their transformation items in the air.

"Jupiter Power, Make-Up!"

"Moon Prism Power, Make-Up!"

After they were bestowed with their alter egos and the powers that come with them, the duo sprinted out from the picnic area and toward the junior high like a couple of track runners after the firing of a starting pistol.

_Juuban Junior High..._

After a rather short run from the park, enhanced by their powers, the two senshi arrive at the Juuban Junior High. Upon arrival, they strike their battle stance, not even panting or breaking a sweat. The two senshi discovered the youma in the middle of the school's baseball diamond terrorizing the people. It was just as Luna had described it. It had a tiger's body, tail, hind legs, and head, but an eagle's wings, beak, and front legs, talons and all.

"That thing looks like a griffin," said Sailor Jupiter, "only it's a tiger instead of a lion."

"Hey tiger bird," Sailor Moon yelled, getting the monsters attention. The youma, busy electrocuting a helpless girl, paused for a moment and turned toward the summons, only to see Sailor Moon staring it down from across the field. "The people came here to enjoy a nice youth baseball game on their day off from school, and you just had to come over here and turn it into a game of terror. The great Nolan Ryan would be pissed off at you," said Sailor Moon as she began to strike her battle pose, "For love and justice, a sailor suited pretty soldier, I am Sailor Moon. In the name of the Moon, you'll be punished."

The youma simply glanced at the angry sailor soldier for a few moments, then turned back to his victim and continued electrocuting her. Once completely helpless, the youma began draining her energy. It was then that Sailor Moon and Sailor Jupiter noticed the shoulder-length red hair complimented by a baby blue bow in her hair.  
"Naru-chan!" Sailor Moon screamed in horror at the sight of her best friend in the clutches of the electric youma. Immediately, she removed her tiara and charged it up so she could try and rescue her friend.

"Moon Tiara, Action!" she chanted as she hurled the tiara with all her might at the electric beast, striking it in the face. The force caused it to lose its grip on Naru as it flew over home plate and into the backstop. With the youma dazed, Sailor Moon ran up to her unconscious friend, picked up her limp body, and carried her on her shoulder out of the battlefield.

Meanwhile, Sailor Jupiter saw her opportunity to capitalize on the youma's vulnerability and advanced on it, with her antenna popping out from her tiara. "And I can't stand beasts like you, pretending to be from a fantasy novel, who terrorize the sporting events that I so love," she scolded as she crossed her arms in front of her. As she charged her attack, lightning struck her tiara and gathered at her crossed arms.

"Supreme Thunder!" She threw her arms out to her sides, releasing a massive blast of lightning at her tiger/eagle opponent. However, as the blast of lightning struck the beast, it simply stood as the lightning absorbed into its body, not even phasing it. Sailor Jupiter stood with her eyes wide open and her jaw hanging in astonishment as her powerful thunder attack only made the beast laugh at her.

The beast's laughing only caused her blood to boil as she balled up her fists. With her powers having failed, pulled herself together and decided to use raw muscle in her struggle against the youma. She charged at the youma, with her rage fueling her strength, and grasped its talons, pitting her sailor senshi-enhanced strength against that of the tiger-like muscle of the youma. She quickly overcame the youma, pushing it to its knees by its talons. But as she was about to finish it with her signature jiu-jitsu shoulder throw, a strange burning sensation overcame her body as the youma began electrocuting her. In moments, her body fell limp and the youma grasped her in its talons. Once the youma had her under its control, it tightened its grasp on her, its talons ripping at her sailor suit and digging into her flesh, as it began to drain her energy.

But as it had drained over half her energy, a blast of bubbles suddenly struck the youma in the face, stunning it and causing it to release the injured Sailor Jupiter. Sailor Mercury hopped down onto the battlefield from the top of a building and began to run toward Sailor Jupiter to render aid to her. But as she reached nearly an arm's distance from her fallen comrade, the youma batted her aside with its talons, sending her sliding past first base and down the foul line.

And just as it had batted the senshi of water aside, a tiara struck the youma off guard, sending it on a ride through the air and into the school itself. After shaking the cobwebs out in a fashion like any tiger would, it looked in the direction of the tiara's origin to find Sailor Moon, staring it down with an angry look on her face. "You hurt my friend, you griffin wannabe. In the name of the Moon, I will more than punish you," she snarled.

Sailor Mercury had quickly recovered from her slide past first base and was scanning it with her visor and minicomputer. Her tools had quickly scanned the youma and displayed some very useful information on it. "Be careful Sailor Moon," she said, getting her comrade's attention, "That youma uses electric attacks before it drains your energy. Electric and water attacks are ineffective against it."

"Is that what happened to Sailor Jupiter?" Sailor Moon asked.

"The youma was already draining her energy when I arrived." Sailor Mercury replied as she continued scanning it, finding a weakness in it. Seconds later, her visor formed crosshairs right on the youma's chest. "Sailor Moon, aim for its heart," she ordered.

"Right," Sailor Moon replied. With the youma somewhat weakened from two tiara blasts, Sailor Moon turned back to the youma. She removed her tiara and called upon on the powers of the Moon. Her tiara charged itself and glowed a bright yellow. However, as she was charging her attack, the youma lowered its eyebrows and began to charge at her. As it neared her, it gave one powerful flap of its massive eagle-like wings, propelling it into the air and straight at Sailor Moon with its talons outstretched.

"Moon Tiara, Action!" with all her strength behind it, she hurled her tiara at the flying youma. Luckily, the tiara struck the youma dead in the heart as it had reached less than a body-length from the vulnerable Sailor Moon. The force of the moon-powered tiara sent the youma on another ride into the school, plastering into the wall and causing it to drop on its side, completely lifeless. Moments later, lightning surged around its body as the youma disintegrated into ashes.

With the youma effectively defeated, Sailor Moon ran over to Sailor Jupiter's side to check on her. "She's alive, but she feels faint," said Sailor Moon, "Mercury, help me get her out of here so we can help her." And with Sailor Mercury's help, she lifted Sailor Jupiter off the ground and carried her off the school grounds. Once safely off the battlefield, they laid Sailor Jupiter's body down as Sailor Moon tended to her. She drew her Moon Stick and charged up the Silver Crystal, then placed her hand on her friend's chest. "Moon Healing, Escalation!"

In an instant, the Silver Crystal glowed a bright white, with Sailor Moon's hand glowing bright white in unison. In moments, Sailor Jupiter's body became bathed in the pure energy of the Silver Crystal. And in moments, the light subsided, having healed Sailor Jupiter's wounds and restored her energy. She opened her eyes and gazed into Sailor Moon's worried eyes, "Usagi-chan?"

"Mako-chan, are you okay?" Sailor Moon asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Sailor Jupiter replied as she began pushing herself back to her feet, albeit with help from Sailor Mercury. But as she made it to her feet, a deep, dark laugh filled the schoolyards.

"I've heard that laugh before," said Sailor Moon. The girls walked out and looked back toward the baseball diamond. There, they found Titanius in the stands with his long dark brown hair and red cape waving in the wind. He had his long wave-bladed sword in his right hand, down at his side and at the ready. However, instead of his rather grim look of amusement, he wore a rather perplexed look. "Titanius!" they said in unison.  
"What, only three of you?" he said in surprise. His attack was not only supposed to gather energy, but also lure the 5 Sailor Senshi and that Mars Prince. But somehow, for some odd reason, his attack only lured 3. At that thought, Titanius only hung his head and thought to himself, 'I guess I'll have to lure the others myself.' He then looked back up and toward the 3 determined Sailor Senshi, "Oh well, at least it'll make things a little bit easier."

"Yeah, for us that is," said Sailor Jupiter.

The senshi immediately scattered, making sure that all of them aren't caught at once by whatever attack Titanius had planned for the. After running a short distance, Sailor Jupiter stopped at second base and stared down her opponent. She then waved her arms out to her sides and prepared to call upon the power of thunder.

"Ha! Your muscle doesn't scare me," Titanius commented as he leaped from the stands, landing on home plate. He then began to charge at Sailor Jupiter..

"Insult me, do you? That's the last mistake you'll ever make," said Sailor Jupiter, with her face burning in anger, as she crossed her arms in front of her, "Supreme THUNDER!" Upon her chant, lightning struck her tiara. She then waved her arms out to her sides, sending powerful bolts of lightning at Titanius, singeing his armor and upping his tab on his frequent-flier miles. As he continued soaring into the air, propelled by Sailor Jupiter's powerful attack, he collided with a news helicopter flying overhead and then fell back to the ground.

"...Folks, it looks like that the villain has hit our news chopper... Oh my God! ...We're okay Midori-san, it's just... holy shit! Sailor Jupiter's certainly is a powerful chick if she could send an armored man that size flying right into our news chopper," said reporter Tanaka Kenta in the news chopper, covering the battle.

Titanius after his flight into the new helicopter and resulting fall, he landed on top of the school's fountain, denting his armor. "Oww! Damn that news chopper. How dare the media embarrass me like this," he commented in pain. He slowly pushed himself back to his feet and shook the cobwebs out. He then turned his attention to 3 senshi running towards him.

"Damn it, you Sailor Bitches, you're going to pay for that embarrassing flight you send me on," he yelled as he threw his arm across his body and waved it at the sprinting senshi, sending a powerful wave of dark energy at them. The wave struck the trio before they could even stop to react, scattering them about the school grounds. He quickly ran back toward the baseball field, where Sailor Mercury struggled to recover from his attack. He recovered his sword from near the pitchers mound, having dropped it when Sailor Jupiter had blasted him earlier, and advanced on his blue-haired opponent. Just as Sailor Mercury had finally made it to her feet, Titanius smacked her across the face with the pommel of his sword, knocking her hard to the ground.

"I'll finish you first," he yelled as he thrust his free hand into her chest. He began to electrocute her, much in the same fashion as his tiger/eagle youma had done with Sailor Jupiter. As Sailor Mercury fell unconscious from the electrocution, Titanius began to drain her energy. But from out of nowhere, a tiara struck him in the back, stopping his energy drain and sending him on another flight, this time flying over the left field wall.

"Yes! Homerun!" said Sailor Moon, jumping up and down excitedly and running the bases, giggling like a little schoolgirl, "That's Sailor Moon 1, Titanius zip."

Upon arriving back at home plate, she turned around and dashed back toward the left field wall where she had sent Titanius. But as she was running, Titanius was emerging from over the wall, struggling to heft his weakened body over. But he proved to be of little threat as he fell from the top of the wall, dropping to the ground like a pile of scrap metal. She quickly drew her Moon Stick and aimed it at Titanius' face as he struggled to his feet. "You hurt my friend, you scrap heap. Now I'm gonna punish you," she snarled. She then powered up the Silver Crystal, causing it to glow bright white. She then fired a beam of pure light, drilling Titanius in the chest and sending him back into the air as if he was shot from cannon.

This time, he'd flown out of the school and through the Juuban District. He landed near the Game Center Crown, causing the people walking by to scatter in fear. After enduring his third trip through the air and his third hard landing, he slowly pushed himself back to his feet and shook the dizziness from his head. "Now I know what a postal package feels like," he commented. He then regained his bearings and decided to take a stroll down the sidewalk, with thoughts of the battle fresh on his mind. Some of the people looked at him in near terror, while others wore confused looks, wondering how a man could survive such a fall.

"Damn, that Sailor Moon is one tough opponent," he said to himself, "No wonder Jadeite couldn't defeat her. And no wonder Zoisite had his problems with her. I can see why Queen Beryl is so pissed off at her and wants her dead. But dammit, I want that Mars Prince."

_Back at Juuban Junior High..._

Naru awoke from what seemed like a nightmare. She slowly shook the bad dream from her head and slowly began to regain her bearings. 'What happened,' she thought to herself, wondering why she was feeling so weak after that youma had grabbed her in its talons. She tried to stand up, but dizziness overcame her and she fell back to the ground, her left arm being the only thing holding her up. "Naru-chan!" a familiar voice called out to her.

Naru turned toward the summons to find Usagi, back in her civilian form, running up ran to her and throwing her arms around her. "Usagi-chan?" she gasped, her eyes beginning to water up at the sight of her best friend.

"Oh, Naru-chan," Usagi said, grasping Naru tightly in her arms, "Tell me, are you alright? Does it hurt anywhere?" Naru couldn't hold it in anymore as the tears began streaming from her eyes and down her cheeks. "Oh Usagi-chan, it was horrible," she began to whimper, "We were enjoying the game┘ and then that monster showed up... it was electrocuting everyone, left and right." Usagi too was giving in to her tears, feeling assured that her best friend was okay, albeit scared.

"Sailor Moon... she saved my life," Naru gasped.

"She saved everyone," Usagi added, gasping and sobbing along with her friend, "I'm so glad you're safe."

Ami, also back in her civilian form, walks up to them after having recovered from Titanius' attack. Naru glanced up at her. "Oh, Ami-chan," she sobbed as she leaped up with what strength she had left up and threw her arms around Ami. Ami's eyes came to tears as she returned Naru's embrace, remembering the danger that she too was in, even as Sailor Mercury. With that mutual feeling fresh on her mind, Ami tightened her hold on Naru, letting her know of the feelings she was sharing. "Naru-chan... Sailor Moon saved my life too," she gasped.

"Ami-chan, Naru-chan," Usagi addressed, getting their attention, and held her hand out to them, "Come, let's go home." Ami released her hold on Naru and stood up under her own power. However, Naru looked up at Usagi's worried face, whose tears had already dried up but her eyes were still red from her crying, then at her outstretched hand. She then took Usagi's warm hand into hers and stood up on her feet with the help of her friend. She then wrapped both her arms around Usagi and rested her head on her shoulder, "Thank you, Usagi-chan."

"That's what friends are for, right?" said Usagi as she and Naru joined Ami on their walk out of Juuban Junior High and toward the OSA-P jewelry store, Naru's house.

"Wait," Makoto called out to the group, getting their attention, as she ran towards them. "Where are you all going?"

"We're taking Naru home," Ami answered.

"Hey Mako-chan, when are you gonna ask Kyodai out?" Usagi asked, winking an eye.

"Oh, depending on what Kyodai is doing..." said Makoto, cracking a smile, "Soon, I hope."

"I'm sure he likes you, Mako-chan. Just follow your heart," said Usagi.

"I will," Makoto replied, "I hope Naru feels better."

"Thank you, Mako-chan," Naru replied as the group turned and continued their walk toward the OSA-P. After their battle, and feeling assured that Usagi, Ami, and even Naru were going to be fine, Makoto turned around and began her walk back home.

_Juuban Park..._

Titanius sat on a bench near the lakeside trail, watching the people walking about the park and thinking about the events of his recent battle. "That damn pyromaniac didn't even show up," he said to himself, "And since she didn't show up, that kept the Mars Prince from coming to his doom. How the hell did I lure only 3 of the senshi? That youma attack was flawless. I sent it after a large group of people, and near a school no less. Certainly, that would've drawn in all 5 of them, but hell no!" However, Titanius' presence at the park had drawn the attention of numerous people at the park. Some simply walked by him with puzzled looks on their faces, and others with knowing looks. Other people, however, screamed and ran at the sight of him.

"It's that villain from the news, Run!" a woman with a baby stroller screamed as her baby wailed, running away from Titanius as fast as she could push the stroller.

Titanius quickly rose from the bench and dropped to his knees, then threw his arms up in the air. "Damn the media," he screamed in the air. After holding that pose for a moment, trembling under the strain, he dropped his arms and lowered his head, letting out a discontented sigh. "This is why I went freelance," he said as he stood back up and began to walk out of the park. But then, new determination struck his brain like lightning, "But the Mars Prince will be mine. I'll just have to formulate a new plan to lure him to his doom." He laughed ecstatically at his refreshed determination, then threw down a smoke bomb and disappeared into nothingness.

_end of Part I_

* * *

...Disclaimer: As usual, Sailor Moon and most of the characters ain't mine, but belong to Naoko Takeuchi. And God bless that woman for creating such great entertainment for all of us with a lot of free time on our hands to enjoy. The English dub belongs to DiC Entertainment and Cloverway, and I only thank them for bringing' it to America, nothin' more. But Kyodai Hino/Hino Kyodai, Tuxedo Inferno, Titanius, and Deanna Kokorono/Kokorono Meijin are MINE (in a growling voice). So, please don't sue me. I'm just a lonely man who ain't got anything but his pride. Well, y'all enjoy this fanfic and e-mail me.

Have fun Sailor Moon fans,  
Viper Inferno (Y2V)


	2. Part II

Title: Forest Fire - Part II

Author: Viper Inferno

Genre: Action Drama

Rated: PG for violence and mild adult language

Author's Notes: I recommend reading Brother of Fire and Five-Alarm Fire before reading this fanfic, since they are part of a series and provide quite a bit of the background for this fanfic.

* * *

**Forest Fire**

_By Viper Inferno_

Part II

_Hikawa Jinja..._

After spending much of the morning and the early part of the afternoon at the Game Center Crown's with Mamoru, Kyodai pulled into his registered parking space at the Hikawa Jinja next to Gabianni's sedan. After shutting off the engine, Kyodai stepped out of his car, shut his door, and paused for a moment. He took in a great breath of the fresh Hikawa Jinja air, feeling much relieved from his slump earlier in the morning. It took some quality time with his best friend, someone who also had no girlfriend despite how good he was to the ladies, save for one Odango Atama, for Kyodai to feel better after his relationship with Minako ended. With most of his thoughts about Minako having finally left his mind, Kyodai began his trip up the shrine steps. But as he reached the top of the steps, his sister came running out the front door of the shrine.

"Kyodai!" Rei summoned as she ran across the shrine toward her brother.

'She looks to be in a good mood,' Kyodai thought to himself, noting the beaming smile on Rei's face as she ran toward him. He braced himself for what he thought was going to be a sisterly tackle, something she did numerous times back when Kyodai would visit her at the shrine every few weeks or so. However, Rei only grabbed him by the wrist and tugged at him, trying to get him to follow her.

"Come on, Kyodai. You've got to see what's on the news," she said, tugging at him even more.

"I thought you hated television," Kyodai commented as she started walking toward the shrine, with his sister dragging him.

"I overheard something coming up about the Sailor Team on the news from Yuuichirou's room," said Rei, "I just couldn't resist."

"So you're dragging me inside to watch something about the Sailor Team," said Kyodai, "I've never seen you this excited over them before."

"Oh, come now. I know you're a fan too," Rei commented as they neared the front door, "You were the one who told us the great stories about the battle you witnessed."

"You got a point there," Kyodai said submissively. The siblings then burst into the house, Kyodai's and Rei's shoes coming off at the front door at lightning speed. They then dashed down the hall, with Rei still keeping a firm grip on Kyodai's wrist, and burst into Yuuichirou's room. Rei sat Kyodai down in front of Yuuichirou's TV with Yuuichirou and Romano, while Rei herself took her place on Yuuichirou's bed. Gabianni was in the room as well, sitting on a chair at Yuuichirou's desk. There, the five sat with their faces glued to the television as the anchor on the TV began her report.

"...a situation at Juuban Junior High where a tiger-like youma attacked the people of the Minato Ward during a youth baseball game. But help arrived as the legendary Sailor Moon and two of the Sailor Senshi rescued the people and defeated the youma. However, the battle wasn't over as another villain arrived on the scene. Sailor Jupiter immediately attacked the villain with her vicious lightning attack, sending him flying into Chopper 13. After a short battle, Sailor Moon sent the villain off the school grounds and out of sight, once again saving the day. Fear not viewers, no one aboard Chopper 13 was injured and they landed safely here at Channel 13 after the battle. Sailor Moon, thumbs up to you and your friends from Channel 13..."

"I knew they'd pull it off," said Yuuichirou, "Even if it was just three of them."

"They're the Sailor Team, of course they did," said Rei.

"I would love to have seen that battle," Kyodai commented.

"Besides, Yuuichirou, there were just 3 Sailor Senshi for quite a length of time before Sailor Jupiter came along, then Sailor Venus," Rei explained.

"Hearing them so much on the news, I'm surprised that guys don't ogle them like you girls ogle that Tuxedo Mask character," Romano commented, "I particularly like Sailor Venus because she was once Sailor V." He then turned to Kyodai, "Hey Kyodai-san, who's your favorite?"

Kyodai thought for a moment, both of his love of them from afar and his battles alongside them as Tuxedo Inferno. "You know, I really haven't given much thought to that, and I've been asked that question before," Kyodai replied. He thought hard about each of the 5 Sailor Senshi, focusing on what he liked about each of them. "Well, there is something I like about each of them, including Sailor Moon," Kyodai explained, "I like Venus for her amazing skill and courage, matching even Sailor Moon's. That, plus the rumors floating about of her being Sailor V, makes me like her. I like Jupiter's strength and speed too."

"So which one is your favorite?" Gabianni asked.

"Well, as much as I like both of them," Kyodai explained, "Sailor Mars wields fire both gracefully and aggressively. And she is probably the best looking senshi alongside Sailor Venus. I mean, they both love to show off their beautifully-sculpted legs more so than the other senshi."

That comment drew a blush from Rei, once again from her brother flattering her with his praises of Sailor Mars, both her powers and her looks. But she quickly shook those flattering thoughts from her head. 'Kyodai, I'm so flattered that you like me as Sailor Mars... and think I'm beautiful... but I swear your opinion will change if you ever find out that the senshi you think is so hot is actually your sister,' she thought to herself before turning back to the guys. "His favorite is Sailor Mercury," Rei told them, trying to get Kyodai quit beating around the bush as he did when she first introduced him to her friends.

"Right, I like her because she's the smartest and most resourceful of the senshi," Kyodai explained, "She has a tendency to use her analytical skills in battle more so than her powers. I think that with out her, the Sailor Team wouldn't be quite as legendary as they are."

"He has a point there," Gabianni commented, "Every great group of superheroes, or in this case 'super-heroines', has to have a brains of the outfit. Most of the superheroes in Rei's manga books also have a 'brains of the outfit'. So it's only natural that the Sailor Team would too."

After their conversation, Rei rose from Yuuichirou's bed and began to walk toward the door. Since it was fairly early afternoon on a Sunday, with all the chores having been done, Rei had little else to do for the day except for a get-together she had arranged the day before.

"Hey guys, I'm going over to Makoto's with Ami-chan and Minako-chan," she said. She then turned to Kyodai, remembering everything she and he were talking about earlier in the morning, "Kyodai, do you want to come with me?"

Kyodai thought hard for a split second, 'I wonder why she's inviting me again. I mean, Minako and I just broke up, and she now wants to bring me over to where she'll be. Maybe she wants us to still be friends just as much as Minako does, and show us that we can be friends without having a relationship.' "Uh...sure, why not?" he responded as he reluctantly rose from the floor and joined Rei at the door. "I'll see you guys when we get back"

_Makoto's apartment..._

Rei and Kyodai arrived at Makoto's apartment building after a leisurely drive through the Juuban District. Makoto's apartment wasn't very far, but Rei had suggested that they take their time getting there. Rei always enjoyed sitting in the passenger seat of Kyodai's old coupe as he drove. It was a time when it was just the two of them, in the privacy of Kyodai's car. It was a place where they would converse with one another without the others at the shrine overhearing their brother-to-sister conversations. They trusted each other with a lot of things, and would often share things with each other that they would share with no other, even if they had to drag it out of each other. It was something they shared with each other even before Kyodai left the Hikawa Jinja to live with their aunt and uncle. Other times, Rei just wanted to be in his passenger seat yet remain silent. Just being with her older brother in the privacy of his coupe while he drove was plenty enough for the both of them.

Once Kyodai found a parking spot, he pulled in and shut his car off, then unbuckled his seatbelt. But as he reached for the latch to open his door, he felt a hand take a gentle hold of his upper arm. "Kyodai, wait," Rei said to him.

He turned to Rei, his eyes meeting hers. "Can we stay for a little longer?" she asked, "I want to talk some more."

"Sure," Kyodai replied, placing both his hands into his lap, "What else is on your mind?"

Rei then removed her hand from Kyodai's arm and placed them gently into her own lap. "Well, you're not too uncomfortable being here, are you?" Rei wondered, "I mean, if you don't want to be here with Minako-chan, you can always drop me off and I can call you to pick me up."

Kyodai turned his eyes away from Rei's and stared down at the hands in his lap. Immediately, thoughts of his breakup with her entered his mind. All the times he had spent with her quickly flashed through his mind, before the events of their actual breakup froze in place. Although he felt less troubled than he did earlier that morning, those thoughts still made him feel rather uneasy. "Yeah, maybe," he meekly replied.

"I understand," Rei replied. She unbuckled her seatbelt and reached for her door latch to exit Kyodai's car.

"But," Kyodai interjected, stopping Rei dead in her tracks. She froze there, her hand a mere centimeter from the door latch, and listened. "I do kind of want to see how Minako-chan is doing," he explained.

"Oh?" Rei replied, returning to sitting back in the passenger's seat and laying her hands in her lap as she listened.

"Yeah, although a part of me feels uncomfortable being with the girl who had just dumped me yesterday, another part of me is curious as to how she feels about it," Kyodai continued, "She said she wanted to be friends, but I was too shocked and distraught to pay any attention to my sixth sense. So maybe being at Makoto-san's place with her there as well will help me to see if she really meant what she was saying. Perhaps this is the final closure I need in our relationship, and I do kind of want to know where we stand, you know."

"I see what you mean," Rei replied, "Do you still want to be her friend?"

"Well, she's seems like a nice enough girl. And she's a huge Sailor V fan like some of the other guys and I am. She may not be my type, but I guess I can be her friend," Kyodai replied.

As Rei listened to all of what Kyodai had to say, thoughts of her own began flowing through her head. She remembered how evasive Kyodai was at even sharing what had happened between him and Minako. But more than that, she remembered how he stood up and left at the mention of Makoto possibly liking him. And that thought immediately brought back those feelings of guilt she had that morning. "Kyodai, I'm sorry for making you feel uncomfortable about Mako-chan liking you," she said, "I know it's too early to be saying such things after your breakup."

"Hey, it's okay. You were just trying to make me feel better," Kyodai replied as he opened his door, "Besides, I needed to go out anyway and be with Mamoru for a little bit. I hadn't been with him outside of class hardly at all since Minako-chan and I started dating."

He then stepped out of his car and shut the door, with Rei also exiting his old coupe. He waited for Rei to walk around the back of his car before they began their trip to the apartment building. Although he was curious as to how Minako felt about their beak up, one question still lingered about his mind. "Hey Rei-chan, why did you want me to come along to Makoto-san's anyway?" he asked.

"Well, I did sort of want you and Mako-chan to get to know each other. I mean, not to get together with or anything like that," Rei sheepishly replied before throwing her hand behind her head and laughing childishly.

"And what do you mean by that?" Kyodai replied, glaring at his sister.

"Well, she may not look it, but Mako-chan is actually more mature than she looks," Rei explained, "Despite being 14 and in Grade 8 like me, she takes care of both her apartment and herself very much like any adult would. You know she lives alone, right?"

"Oh really? So that's why I didn't see any parents those last times you brought me over to her apartment," said Kyodai.

"Yeah, Mako-chan's an orphan. I don't really know all the details, but she lost her parents when she was young," Rei explained.

"That's sad," Kyodai replied as they entered the lobby of the apartment building.

"Well, I won't lie to you. I do think she likes you, and I do want to better introduce her to you," said Rei, "You're right, maybe it is too early for you to be thinking about her liking you. But give her a chance. You two can be friends. You share a few things in common, you know? You're both martial artists and both athletes."

"Perhaps. I'm just not really worried about that right now. Although, I do kind of want to get to know my sister's friends a little better," Kyodai replied.

"That's the spirit," said Rei as they boarded an elevator.

After a few moments of silence between the siblings as the elevator ascended to Makoto's floor, they arrived at Makoto's apartment in rather short order. Rei then knocked on the door to announce her arrival.

"Is that you, Rei-chan?" Makoto's voice sounded through the door.

"Yes," Rei replied, "And Kyodai's with me too."

Nothing else was said. Immediately after Rei's reply, she and Kyodai heard footsteps on the other side of the door quickly approaching. And not a moment too soon, the door opened to reveal Makoto's smiling face. She wore a green blouse and khaki slacks, with her usual pink apron. "Please, come in," said Makoto, waving the siblings in.

They walked inside, leaving their shoes just inside the front door, and immediately noticed that Makoto had rearranged her furniture. Her couches still sat across from each other, with the cedar coffee table sitting between them. The chair had moved to the head of the table, while the loveseat was moved to the foot of the table. This arrangement made for an executive board meeting environment, and seemed to have been arranged with visits from multiple guests in mind. Her television sat behind her chair yet diagonally from the table where guests on the loveseat and one of the couches could easily see. And finally, all her wall furniture and even her wall clock had all been rearranged. However, the one area that was barely touched was her dining room. Everything but a few pieces of wall furniture stayed where it was before.

"You did great rearranging this place," Kyodai commented with a smile.

'He likes it,' Makoto thought to herself, her beautiful emerald green sparkling, 'And he's smiling at me too.'

Ami and Minako were already sitting at the couch with their backs to the television set. They had been conversing amongst each other and Makoto before the siblings had arrived. So the siblings took their places in the living room while Makoto walked back into her kitchen. Kyodai sat at the loveseat while Rei took her seat on the chair. And immediately, feelings of anxiety began to cumulate within Kyodai. In the couch, not more than two meters from him, sat the girl who had turned a potential day together into one of heartbreak just the day before. On top of that, she was looking right at him the whole time he was inside Makoto's apartment, making him feel even more uneasy. He closed his eyes for a second and reflected on what he had just told Rei earlier in the car. And a quick second later, he opened his eyes and looked at his sister sitting across the table.

"Kyodai-kun," Minako said, grabbing his attention again. He turned to not only see the worried look on her face, but also feel the aura of sorrow emanating from her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Kyodai said, relaxing a little.

"Look, I'm really sorry about yesterday. I don't know what..."

"No, it's okay, Minako-chan. You don't need to say anything," Kyodai interrupted. Unlike yesterday, he actually was paying attention to his sixth sense like he had told Rei about. And what he felt was exactly what Minako had told him yesterday when they broke up. Although they did share a few romantic moments together, they both knew that their relationship wouldn't have progressed more than that. She may have lost that dating spark, but she was sincere about wanting to keep their friendship going. And that sense prompted him to look into her baby blue eyes. "We're friends after all, right?" he said, smiling at her.

And immediately, all the same feelings of worry and discomfort were washed away from Minako with that smile. "Yes," she replied, smiling and holding her hand out to Kyodai. Kyodai then took her hand into his and gave it a friendly squeeze. "I do want us to be friends," Minako added as Kyodai took her hand, "We didn't spend all those good times together for nothing, right?"

"Of course," Kyodai replied, giving Minako's hand one last squeeze before letting go and placing them politely in his lap. 'This was the closure I needed,' Kyodai thought to himself, 'And I'm glad things will be okay between us.'

"So," said Rei to Minako, turning her attention from Kyodai, "How'd you like that Sailor V movie?"

"I loved it," said Minako, "Sailor V is the best."

"I agree, she was really something," said Rei before turning to her brother, "Did you see it Kyodai?"

"I saw it on Friday with Obake and some of the other guys after practice," said Kyodai.

"And how did you like it?" Rei asked.

"Oh, please tell us," said Minako, blinking her eyes.

"It was a great movie," Kyodai explained, "The guys loved it too. That movie actually converted a couple of them into Sailor V fans."

"Oh, she gets more and more fans everyday," said Minako, thinking about how much of a role model she really was when she was Sailor V.

"Yeah," Kyodai sighed, "She was a true fighter before the Sailor Team arrived. Speaking of that, Rei and I saw them on the news today."

"Yeah, I heard that only three of them were there," Minako replied, glairing at Makoto in the kitchen as she wondered why she too wasn't let in on the action.

"I loved how Sailor Jupiter zapped that villain in black and sent him flying into Chopper 13," Kyodai commented.

At the mere mention of her alter ego, Makoto walked in and sat next to Kyodai on the love seat, "You like Sailor Jupiter, don't you, Kyodai-san?"

"Yes, I like Sailor Jupiter. I admire a girl with great strength," Kyodai replied

That response was all Makoto wanted to hear. She turned away from Kyodai and the others, hiding the fact that her eyes were glistening at Kyodai's praises, 'So he is a Sailor Jupiter fan after all.'

"How much do you know about Sailor Jupiter?" Kyodai asked, breaking Makoto from her trance.

"Well, I do know she tends to use that great physical strength rather than her powers in battle," Makoto explained, being ever so careful and leaving out anything referring to her being Sailor Jupiter.

"I've noticed her doing that in battle," said Rei, helping Makoto with her cover-up.

"It takes a lot of guts to use just physical strength against a youma," said Kyodai.

"But when she does use her powers, her thunder attacks are a not force to be taken lightly," said Makoto.

"But Sailor Moon is the best," said Ami, remembering that it was Sailor Moon who had saved her from Titanius' energy drain, "Nobody can surpass her."

"Come on, Sailor Moon's just a clumsy crybaby," said Rei, "She's slow to act, she relies too much on the others, and she whines a lot."

As Rei spout out that comment, she took a look around the room, expecting someone to argue back with her. However, she soon realized that Usagi wasn't there to stand up for herself as Sailor Moon and challenge Rei's insults. With no response to her opinion, she hung her head in defeat. "I just wish Usagi was around to hear this. Sailor Moon is her favorite," she commented.

"Actually, Sailor Moon is probably the best fighter of the group," Kyodai rebutted, getting Rei's attention, "Slow to act, maybe. But she knows exactly what to do in just about every fight. And she's gotten a lot better since I first heard about her."

"Really now?" Rei challenged. She certainly didn't expect a debate from her brother on the subject of Sailor Moon.

"I think so," Kyodai replied with confidence, "But I do somewhat agree with you."

"See? I'm right. She's a klutz and shouldn't be the leader. Sailor Mars is more suitable as leader than she is," said Rei.

"I didn't mean it like that, Rei-chan" said Kyodai, "She WAS klutzy, a bit of a crybaby, and was really lacking in confidence when she first appeared. She was no Sailor V by any means."

"She's like that now," said Rei.

"Not nearly as much. She has a lot more confidence in herself and is a much more determined fighter than when she first appeared," Kyodai explained, "Pair that with her extraordinary powers, and they make her more than suitable as leader."

Rei sat in silence, starring into her brother's eyes, knowing she's been defeated. 'Yeah, but you don't see her in action like I do,' Rei thought to herself, careful as to not let her first-hand knowledge of Sailor Moon slip, 'But you're right. She is a lot more mature and a lot more confident than when I first met her.' "This isn't so much fun without Usagi around," said Rei. At that comment, the other 3 girls dropped to the floor while Kyodai merely hung his head with a sweat drop hanging.

"Uh, Rei-chan? I have to agree with Kyodai-san," Ami added, "She has matured since she first appeared. You have to admit that."

"Yeah, you're right," said Rei, finally admitting her defeat.

After a few moments of silence, Makoto stood from the loveseat and began walking back toward her kitchen to resume her cooking. As entered her kitchen, she paused for a second. 'I really want to get to know him better,' she thought to herself, 'Now is my chance since he's here in my apartment.' She then turned back toward the group. "Hey Kyodai-san? I'm making dinner for us all. Would you like to help?" she asked as politely as she could, with a slight bow.

The other girls suddenly glanced at her with their eyes wide open in pure shock. Knowing Makoto as well as they did, and more than familiar with her supreme cooking skills, Makoto's offer surprised them. "She's actually asking someone to help her cook?!" they commented in unison.

"My pleasure," Kyodai replied as she stood and began making his way toward the kitchen, "I'm not that bad of a cook myself. Ask Rei about it."

"Yeah, right. Gabianni does most of the cooking at the shrine," Rei replied with her usual sarcasm.

"That's only because he's used to it," Kyodai struck back, "Besides, he's a good cook too."

"So Mako-chan, why are you asking Kyodai-san to help?" Ami asked, "You never have anyone helping you cook. In fact, you're the one helping us with our cooking."

"I just thought it'd be a good setting for him to share me more of his views on the Sailor Team," Makoto replied, "Plus, I'd like to get to know Rei-chan's brother a little better."

"Why thank you, Makoto-san," Kyodai replied. "About dinner, what are we making?"

"Shepherds' pies, vegetable soup, and dinner rolls," said Makoto.

"Sounds easy enough," said Kyodai.

Throughout much of the conversation since Kyodai had accepted her offer, Makoto's eyes sparkled at the mere sound of Kyodai being a good cook. Although she was the competitive type, and was one who prided herself in her cooking abilities, she found it flattering that Kyodai was not only athletic like her, but was also a seemingly good cook like her. "Where'd you learn how to cook?" she wondered.

"Yeah Kyodai, tell us," said Rei, putting her hands at her waist, "Where did you find the time to learn how to cook with all your studies and soccer practices?"

"Aunt Reika taught me to cook when I was living with her," said Kyodai, "You know that I can cook. I'm not like you."

"Really funny," she commented with a haughty expression.

Makoto and Kyodai then walked into the kitchen to grab what they needed to cook. The others in the living room carried on with a conversation of their own as Kyodai grabbed one of Makoto's cookbooks to look up the dishes she was to prepare. And with everything gathered, Kyodai and Makoto began making dinner.

_Meanwhile, at the Dark Kingdom..._

After his rather embarrassing loss to the Sailor Team, no thanks to the media covering the battle, Titanius returned to the Dark Kingdom headquarters, being careful as not to make his presence too well known. He was more than certain that Queen Beryl had witnessed that entire battle, and probably had some access to the media through her crystal ball. And he had no desire to face Queen Beryl's fury alone. So he decided to make his way toward one of the Dark Kingdom's many training rooms, where not only the soldiers trained, but also the 4 Kings and their youma.

In a secluded alcove quite a distance from Queen Beryl's throne room, Titanius opened the large wooden door to find only a few soldiers practicing some sword moves against each other. The sounds of the opening of the door grabbed the soldiers' attention, prompting them to pause their swordplay and glance toward the door. Upon seeing Titanius enter, they only glanced at him, not even acknowledging that the former champion of the Dark Kingdom has standing before them. Instead, they only began to chuckle at him, remembering hearing about Titanius' loss to Sailor Moon and the media's boasting about it. And just as quickly as they started chuckling, it grew into laughter, with one of the soldiers even pointing at Titanius as he laughed.

"What the hell is so funny?" Titanius bellowed, causing the training room to vibrate all around them and freezing the soldiers in place, utterly ending their laughter. They all stood at attention, gazing at him and trembling from the resonating sound of Titanius' fury.

"N-Nothing, Titanius-san," one of the soldiers replied.

"Good," Titanius replied calmly as he walked past the soldiers, without as much as a facial expression. After all, Titanius was here for the same reason those soldiers were, to train in the use of his powers. But he certainly didn't want those soldiers who felt so amused at his loss to Sailor Moon to be in the same training room with him. He knew immediately why they laughed at him, knowing how quickly news traveled around the Dark Kingdom. Besides, he wanted this secluded training room to himself. So as quickly as he had walked by them, Titanius turned to the soldiers and bellowed, "Now get the hell out!"

Once again, the room shook at the thundering sound of Titanius' furious voice. And the soldiers quickly dashed out of the room quicker than cockroaches at the flick of a light switch. Titanius hung his head and held his fist up in front of him, trembling as he grasped the air with all his might. "Damn that Sailor Moon," he swore, "That's the last time she's going to embarrass me and get the best of me like that."

He then focused on the fury burning inside him. With his right fist still held up in front of him, tingling from the tension, Titanius lifted his head back up and gazed at his trembling fist. And as his fury boiled inside, his fist and forearm began to glow bright purple as it charged up with his dark energy. He then drew his right fist back and thrust his open palm toward a training dummy at the other end of the training room, sending a powerful ball of dark energy in its direction. The ball of energy struck the dummy, shattering it into a thousand pieces.

However, that one blast of energy left Titanius somewhat drained. He leaned down, with his hands on his knees, breathing heavily after releasing all his fury in one large ball of dark energy. Although he had used them during his earlier battle, it had been ages since he had used his own innate powers, even in training. Ever since he had first built his blaster, began using it in his battles. Over time, he devised much of his strategy around the brutal power of his blaster to the point where he favored his blaster over his own innate powers granted to him by the Dark Kingdom. His mechanical and strategic ingenuity was his greatest strength. However, with how rusty he had become in the use of his own powers, it proved to be his weakness.

"Failed your mission, huh Titanius?" Kunzite's voice echoed. Titanius stood back up and turned toward the door to see his colleague entering the training room. "I figured you would be staying as far from Queen Beryl as possible after your rather embarrassing loss to the Sailor Team."

"You can say that again. The Mars Prince wasn't even there," said Titanius.

"Yes, I know," said Kunzite.

"Hell, the pyromaniac didn't even show up," Titanius barked, "How the hell did only 3 of them show up? Don't they all show up nowadays?"

"I can't explain," Kunzite replied, "I couldn't even explain it to Queen Beryl. We've rarely lad problems when getting the attention of all 5 Sailor Senshi, whether deliberately or not. Queen Beryl gave me quite the verbal thrashing for it, especially since I was the one who planned that energy-gathering mission. So I'm sure she'll take it easier on you."

"I knew she was going to raise hell over our failure," said Titanius, "But I really hate losing. And I really hate it when my target doesn't even show up." With more anger building up inside Titanius, he threw his right arm toward another dummy and launched a bolt of lightning at it, singeing its wooden body.

Kunzite only watched, not even flinching at Titanius' display of furious power. "That's too bad," he calmly said, "What are you going to do now?"

"Well, I'm gonna take most of this week off to perfect the use of my own powers. This was the first time that I really had to focus on my own powers in battle. So I was pretty unfamiliar with them. That was why I lost," Titanius explained. "And once I'm done with my training, I'll then devise a way to lure those senshi and that Mars Prince to a more...closed area. That school may have made for excellent youma feeding grounds, but it also made it easier for them to fight. So I'll make sure and get them into an area where they can't move around quite so much. That'll make it harder for them to fight," Titanius explains.

"You certainly bounce back from a loss rather quickly. I'll go tell Queen Beryl," said Kunzite as he turned and left the training room.

Titanius then turned back toward a small group of dummies, threw his arm across his chest, and then swung his arm in front of him. That motion sent a wave of dark energy at the dummies, bowling them over and sending them sliding into the wall. "I may have failed today, but next week I'll lure all of them. Then the Mars Prince will come to their aid. He'll come...and go," Titanius said to himself as he filled the cavernous training room with his evil laugh.

_Back at Makoto's apartment..._

Makoto and Kyodai were tackling dinner like a pair of restaurant chefs. Makoto and Kyodai had worked together on the shepherd's pies. Makoto had tackled the potatoes and vegetables while Kyodai cooked the ground beef. Once the ingredients were pre-cooked, Makoto put the final ingredients together before putting them into the oven to bake. With the shepherd's pies baking in the oven, Kyodai took to making the dinner rolls from scratch, following the highlighted pages and even a few notes in one of Makoto's cookbooks. While Kyodai was busy mixing the ingredients for the dough, Makoto had started on the vegetable soup, starting with the basic stock.

The other girls had left 5 minutes earlier to take a leisurely stroll, leaving Kyodai and Makoto alone in the kitchen to cook dinner for them all. Very little was said between the two, other than a few simple requests and a few thanks. Both of them had concentrated too much on their tasks in cooking and didn't really get much of a chance to really get to know one another. As Makoto was placing the vegetables in the soup, she took a quick look at Kyodai and paused, watching as he was rolling out the dough for the dinner rolls. 'He certainly has done this a lot before,' she thought to herself, 'He's pretty good in the kitchen for someone who studies a lot like Ami and plays soccer.'

She then dropped the last of the vegetables in the soup and decided to once again try to break the ice with Kyodai, "Kyodai-san, could you please hand me the celery seed over there?"

Kyodai had just finished rolling out the dough. So he easily paused and grabbed the celery seed from the spice rack sitting less than arm's reach from him. "Here you go," he said as he tossed it to her, landing perfectly into her hands.

"Thank you, Kyodai-san. You've been such great help," said Makoto.

"It's my pleasure," Kyodai replied as he turned back to the dough and began work on forming the dinner rolls.

'Damn, missed again,' Makoto thought to herself, having missed yet another opportunity to try and get Kyodai to talk to her a little more. Even her complimenting him on his help wasn't working. So she gave up once again and went back to making her vegetable soup, measuring out the perfect amount of celery seed for her vegetable soup.

Minutes later, the oven timer for the shepherd's pies went off. Makoto took the cookie sheet with the freshly formed dinner rolls from Kyodai and walked over to the oven. She donned an oven mitt, opened the oven, and pulled out the sizzling shepherd's pies, then slid the dinner rolls inside. While she was busy setting the oven temperature for the dinner rolls, Kyodai turned his attention to the vegetable soup, picking up where Makoto left off. He took a look at Makoto's cookbook, which was turned to the page for the vegetable soup she was cooking, and quickly found where in the recipe she had left off. So he took a couple of spices from the spice rack and measured out the right amounts of each before dropping them into the soup. He then stirred the soup, test tasting it every few moments.

Makoto paused, gazing at Kyodai with sparking eyes as took to the soup like one of those master chefs on TV. "You're really good, Kyodai-san," she commented.

"Thank you. I've made this kind of soup before. It's Rei-chan's and my favorite. So I figured I'd learn how to make it," Kyodai explained, "But I couldn't possibly compare to your meatloaf, or your chicken cordon blue."

"But you do a great job," said Makoto as she placed her hand on his shoulder, "Don't sell yourself short, okay? I'll go ahead and take over." She gently squeezed his shoulder, emphasizing her thanks, then let go and went back to making the soup. 'Well, that was a start,' she thought to herself as she put the last of the ingredients into the soup. Oddly enough, she wasn't even thinking about making another attempt to break the ice. Her compliments just slipped out rather naturally.

'She's a lot like one of those master chef's that Aunt Reika used to watch on TV,' Kyodai thought to himself, watching Makoto take to the soup like a true master at her line of work, 'She seems like nice enough girl, one who cares deeply for her friends.'

"So tell me a little about yourself," said Makoto as she decided to a short break from the soup and let it cook. It finally provided her the perfect opportunity to get to know Rei's brother a little better.

"Well, as you may have already heard, I was the star soccer player on the Juuban High School soccer team. We were 2-time high school soccer champions while I was there," Kyodai explained.

"I noticed the championship ring on your finger," said Makoto.

"And Rei-chan's wearing the second ring I won," said Kyodai.

"Wow, that was really sweet of you to give it to your sister," Makoto commented.

"Well, she was there for all my games," said Kyodai, "I may not have been living with her, but she would get out of school and come to a number of my soccer practices after school. She would also come to a lot of my soccer games. And she was there when we won our second championship. So when the OSA*P Jeweler was getting our ring sizes for our championship rings, I had mine sized to fit Rei-chan's finger. So I gave it to her, thanking her for being there for me during all those games."

"It sounds like your sister was really proud of you even then," Makoto replied as she took a single step toward Kyodai and rested herself against the counter, "Did you know that the owner of the OSA*P has a daughter who goes to the same school as me, Ami, and Usagi?"

"Wow, that's great," said Kyodai, "It seems like you girls are proud of that, having a friend whose mother owns such a fine jewelry store."

"How about you? Do you know anyone famous?" Makoto inquired as she rested her chin in her palm and her elbow on the counter, gazing into his purple eyes.

Kyodai's eyes averted from Makoto's as silence was his initial answer. After a few thoughts flashed through his mind, he let out a discontented sigh, "No, not really?"

"Wait, you and Rei-chan couldn't be related to Hino Takashi-sama of the Liberal Democratic Party, could you?" Makoto wondered.

Kyodai closed his eyes for a moment. 'God, I hope she's not another one of those girls who like to latch onto me because they some how figured out my relationship with him, and automatically picture me as a rich boy, and want to get together with me,' he thought to himself, cringing at the thought.

Makoto immediately saw his response and took a couple steps back from him, her sorrow screaming out for the world to hear, "I'm sorry, Kyodai-san. If you don't want to talk about it..."

"No, it's okay," Kyodai interrupted, looking back into Makoto's eyes, "Rei-chan and I don't talk about him much at all. Hino Takashi is our father. Neither of us has really associated ourselves with him since Rei-chan was 6 and I was 10."

"It sounds like you two don't think very highly of him," said Makoto, taking another step toward him and placing her hand on the counter very close to him, offering her sympathy.

"Yeah, you can say that again," Kyodai commented, laying his left hand close to Makoto's without thinking, "It's nothing I like to talk about, so not a lot of people know that we're his children."

"It's okay, I won't ask anymore," Makoto replied as she walked her fingers up to Kyodai's. As she touched his fingers, she noticed a rather antique-looking ring on his left finger. It was gold, plainly decorated, and adorned with a large black jewel in the center. "Hey Kyodai-san, what's this black ring on your left hand?" she asked, quickly finding another subject to divert Kyodai from his apparent discomfort at the mention of his father, taking that hand into hers as she gazed at the ring.

"This..." Kyodai paused, not wanting to share with Makoto anything about him being Tuxedo Inferno. But then, he noted the softness of her hand as it held his while she was looking at his ring. "This is my obsidian jewel ring."

"Wow, I've never heard of obsidian being used as jewelry before," Makoto commented.

"It does, though I've never seen obsidian at OSA*P," Kyodai commented, "But this ring was passed down to me by my uncle, whom his father passed down to, and so on. He told me that one of my ancestors crafted it sometime in the early Edo Period after the English traded his famous recipes for some obsidian. He had given it to his son as a gift, which then began the tradition."

'He tells such wonderful stories,' Makoto thought to herself, letting go of Kyodai's hand and looking into his eyes as he continued on with his story.

"So tell me a little bit about yourself," Kyodai said moments later after finishing his story.

"Well, there really isn't much interesting about me," Makoto replied, "Other than I live here by myself and take care of the apartment and all the cooking by myself."

"That in itself is an amazing accomplishment," said Kyodai, "I don't know of any 14-year-old's who can take care of an apartment and go to school and do tons of homework at the same time."

Makoto only blushed at his compliments, "Well, I also take martial arts and am quite adept at athletics, although I'm not on any teams or anything. I sort of took a liking to cooking and don't concentrate so much on athletics anymore. But, I still like to practice my karate. It helps me focus on things."

"Yeah, karate does that for me too," Kyodai replied, "I used to practice at the Hikawa Jinja all the time until I moved out. Then, I went to a dojo that my uncle highly recommended that I attend. Although I haven't practiced much lately since I started at Azabu Tech."

"So you're both smart and athletic, huh?" Makoto commented as she rested both her elbows on the counter and laid her head onto her hands, gazing into Kyodai's, "I saw all your trophies that Rei-chan had displayed at the shrine. You have not only your athletic trophies, but also a collection of academic trophies rivaling even Ami's. Rei-chan must be really proud of you since she took the time to build it."

"Yeah, Rei-chan's always been my biggest fan and my biggest supporter, even if she annoys the hell out of me sometimes," said Kyodai.

"Yeah, I wish I had a brother like you," Makoto said.

"Oh do you now?" Kyodai wondered, raising an eyebrow at her comment.

"Yeah, a brother who cares a lot for his sister, someone for his sister to look up to, and someone to loves her like no one else," Makoto said as she stood back up from the counter and gazed into his deep purple eyes, "Sometimes, I wish I had a brother to share this apartment with... or a sister. You know, someone to keep me company here while I take care of this apartment."

"Don't you have Rei-chan and the others to keep you company?" Kyodai asked.

"Yeah, but I've lived alone since I was 9," Makoto explained, "Ever since my parents died, I never really knew anybody very well. I never stayed at the same school for very long. In fact, Juuban is the third junior high school I've attended. Let's just say I wasn't the easiest person to make friends with."

"Some how, I find that rather difficult to believe," Kyodai commented, "A girl who's as great of a chef as you are, and who's such a great friend to my sister and her friends as you are... I just can't picture you being otherwise."

"Yeah, Usagi said the same thing when I first met her," said Makoto, "A lot of students were afraid of me because of my size, while others picked fights with me because of my size. Usagi was one of very few who didn't care about my bad reputation, and got to know me for who I am."

"I can agree with you there. Rei-chan's been more open and sure of herself, and not quite so reclusive outside of home since she first told me about Usagi," said Kyodai.

Makoto once again gazed into his eyes. She was quite reluctant to tell Kyodai anything about her bad reputation from before she had met Usagi, fearing he would turn her down like her old flame did. But like Usagi, Rei, and the others, Kyodai didn't seem to care in the least bit, but rather seemed fascinated that a girl her age could do so much by herself. And that thought only made her heart beat faster as her feelings for him only grew stronger. "So you really can't picture me as being the tall, gruff, tomboyish girl that had a bad reputation before transferring to Juuban?" she asked.

"Not at all," Kyodai replied, "In fact, if that was true, I think that it is something you now use for something more noble, such as standing up for your friends when they can't stand up for themselves... kind of like your idol, Sailor Jupiter."

Makoto giggled at Kyodai's comment on Sailor Jupiter. "Now stop it, you," she said teasingly.

"I'm serious, I don't picture a sophisticated girl like you who works hard to cook such great meals for her friends, who takes care of her house, and is strong and athletic at the same time as being one who people would want to pick fights with," Kyodai continued.

Makoto couldn't take it anymore. The compliments were more than she could bear. So she walked up to Kyodai and took his left hand into hers, and once again gazed at his obsidian jewel ring. "This ring... it's really beautiful. It's such a perfect match for you," she commented.

"Thank you, Makoto-san," Kyodai replied, "You're the only girl I've met who's even complimented my antique ring, much less shown any real interest in it."

Makoto tightened her grip on Kyodai's hand, albeit in a rather affectionate manner, and looked back up into Kyodai's deep purple eyes, "Please, you can call me Mako-chan. And I do. I like antique jewelry, especially beautiful pieces like this that match the color of your long black hair. If only your eyes could release those age-old fires locked deep inside..."

Kyodai's heart began to pick up the beat as Makoto gently took his other hand into hers. And then, after a moment of gazing into each other's eyes, they slowly inched toward each other and gently pressed their lips together. Makoto immediately felt the fire from his lips calling to her as she enveloped herself in the flames of his kiss. 'I think I really like this girl,' Kyodai thought to himself as his lips gently caressed hers, 'She's definitely not like any 14-year-old I've ever met. A girl like her seems more my age.' However, their burning passion was only short lived as the oven timer interrupted their sharing of love.

"Oh," she said, breaking their kiss, "the dinner rolls." She quickly caught her breath from that kiss and ran over to the oven. She donned her oven mitt, opened the oven door, and pulled the dinner rolls out. Kyodai, also catching his breath from their kiss, turned back to working on the soup as if they hadn't even kissed to begin with.

"Did I say that I admire a strong, athletic girl?" Kyodai said after testing the soup.

"Yes you did," Makoto replied, throwing her oven mitt back onto the counter as she walked behind Kyodai and gently slid her hands and arms around his waist. She then gently pulled herself close to him, so as not to disturb his work on the soup too much, and rested her cheek against the back of his shoulder. "I gotta tell you something," Makoto said in a rather flirting manner.

'Ooh, this must be good,' Kyodai thought to himself in response to the sound of her voice.

"I've liked you since before you and Minako even started dating," she said.

"Really, I never knew," said Kyodai, lying of course.

"And I like you even more now," she added, giving his waist an affectionate squeeze and kissing him in the crook of his neck.

"You're one amazing girl, you know," Kyodai replied as he continued stirring the soup. And as he stirred the soup, thoughts of his last conversation with Mamoru regarding Minako reentered his mind. 'We need a more sophisticated girl,' were the words that lingered in his mind. 'Yeah, like Makoto here,' he thought to himself in reply.

"Hey Kyodai-san, the soup should be done by now," said Makoto. She then let go of Kyodai, moved beside him, and removed the soup pot from the stovetop and placed it onto a ceramic tile on the counter to cool off. Kyodai quickly turned the burner off as Makoto tested the soup. "It's perfect," she commented, "Thank you, Kyodai-san. You really were a great help."

"You're welcome. And you can call me Kyodai-kun if you'd like," Kyodai replied. Then, something immediately hit him when she thanked him for helping her cook, "Tell me, Mako-chan, what did the girls mean when they said 'You actually asked someone to help you cook'?"

Makoto hesitated, with her hand behind her head and a sweat drop hanging, before she sheepishly replied, "Well... I usually never ask anyone to help me out with my cooking or any of my housework."

"But you do make exceptions," Kyodai added.

Makoto smiled and nodded in reply. She then walked up to him, placed her arms over his shoulders, and gave him another deep, passionate kiss on the lips, putting all her feelings of love and admiration into it. But just as Kyodai wrapped his arms around her to help deepen their kiss, Makoto gently pulled back, breaking their kiss, "The others will be back any minute. Let's get dinner ready, shall we?"

So Kyodai grabbed some plates and flatware while Makoto grabbed some casserole dishes to serve the soup and shepherd's pies in. And as the couple began setting the table, Rei, Minako, and Ami opened the door and walked inside. "We're home," they all said in unison as they left their shoes at the door.

They begin setting the table when Rei, Minako, and Ami walk through the door. "We're home," they all say in unison.

"Welcome back, everyone. Dinner's ready," said Makoto, "Take your seats and let's eat."

With that, all 3 sat at the table as Kyodai was finishing putting the last of the dishes and flatware on the table. The dining room table had 6 seats around a rectangular table, two at each side, and one at each end. Minako sat at the end of the table, while Ami sat to Minako's left, and Rei sat to Minako's right. When Kyodai had finished setting the glasses on the table, he took his seat next to Rei. Makoto took her place at the head of the table, right within arm's reach of Kyodai, and began passing the food around to each of them.

"Well, at least Usagi's not here to gobble it all up," Rei commented as she passed the dinner rolls to Ami.

"Wow, you two did a great job preparing this for all of us," said Ami.

"Thank you," Makoto and Kyodai say in unison. This simultaneous response took them by surprise, and they turned to each other with their eyes sparkling and their cheeks slightly blushing.

"So Kyodai, you have a soccer game coming up on Friday, right?" Rei asked Kyodai, quickly getting his attention.

"Yes," Kyodai replied, "It's our first scrimmage of the season. You are coming, right?"

"Of course, and so is everybody else at the shrine," said Rei.

"Oh, can I come too?" Makoto begged, placing her hand on Kyodai's. She then gazed into his eyes, thinking to herself, 'You will take me, oh yes you will.'

"Of course, you can come too," Kyodai replied, turning his hand over and giving hers a gentle and affectionate squeeze.

"Thank you, Kyodai-kun. Now I get to see a star soccer player like you in action," Makoto said as she let go of Kyodai's hand and rubbed his cheek with the backs of her fingers.

"Kyodai-kun, huh?" Rei said, chuckling to herself in response to both Makoto's use of a more familiar honorific and her rather persuasive actions, "You go Kyodai. Didn't I tell you she liked you?"

"Well... yes you did," Kyodai replied sheepishly.

"What? You knew? You told him?!" Makoto exclaimed.

"Come on, Mako-chan, it was obvious," Rei responded.

Makoto only threw her hand behind her head in response, with a sweat drop hanging. "Yeah, I guess you're right," she said.

The rest of dinner went off very well, with only a few words shared amongst the girls. Kyodai, however, shared very few words with both his sister Rei and his newfound love Makoto. It wasn't until Kyodai stood after dinner had finished that the activity around the table picked up. Kyodai was about to reach for some of the empty plates when Makoto immediately stood. "Kyodai-san, you don't have to help clean up. You've already been more than enough help. Let me go ahead and take care of cleaning up," she said, placing her hand gently on Kyodai's to stop him. Kyodai looked to her to see her smiling lips and her beautiful green eyes staring into his.

"Thank you, Mako-chan," he replied, smiling back at her.

"Hey, I'm the one entertaining everyone here, you know," Makoto replied, winking at him.

"She does have a point, you know," Rei replied as she and the other girls also stood from their seats, "It was her job as the head of the household to entertain her guests."

"It's starting to get a little late," said Ami, glancing at the wall clock in Makoto's living room, which read 8:28pm.

"Yeah, I told my mother I'd be home after I had dinner here," said Minako as she excused herself from the dinner table, not forgetting to push her chair in.

"And I have some studying to do for class tomorrow," Ami added.

Minako only hung her head, letting the sweat drops hang as well, "Do you have to study so much when you're ahead of the rest of your class?"

"And Kyodai's going to be taking me back home," Rei added, ignoring Minako's comment about Ami's studying, knowing her brother likes to do it too.

'"It's okay," Makoto commented as she gathered the last of the empty dishes to take into the kitchen, "I really enjoyed having all of you over, especially you, Kyodai-kun."

"Thank you, Mako-chan," Kyodai responded, "I'm glad to have gotten to know you too."

While Makoto was taking the dishes into the kitchen, Kyodai and the girls gathered at Makoto's front door and slid into their shoes. They all turned back to Makoto as she had walked back into her dining area to grab the casserole dishes with all that was left over from dinner.

"Good bye, Mako-chan. I'll see you at school tomorrow. Thank you for dinner," said Ami,

"I'll see you tomorrow," said Rei, "Thank you for everything."

"You're all welcome," Makoto replied.

"Bye-bye, Mako-chan. Be good to my Kyodai-kun," said Minako.

"Excuse me," said Makoto, placing the casserole dishes back onto the dinner table and glaring at Minako, "He's MY Kyodai-kun."

Kyodai only paused in place, with bead of sweat hung from his forehead, as the girls walked out the front door after saying their goodbyes. 'Okay ladies, you don't have to fight over me,' he thought to himself. With the others out the front door, Makoto walked up to Kyodai and gently laid her arms across his shoulders. "Kyodai-kun, I meant it. Thank you so much for tonight," she said before placing a gentle kiss on his lips.  
"Don't sweat it, Mako-chan. I really enjoyed your company. I'll see you tomorrow after soccer practice, okay?" he said. After another gentle kiss, Kyodai let Makoto go and walked out her front door. He decided to take a casual walk down the hall toward the elevator, knowing Rei was going to be waiting in the lobby for him to drive them back to the Hikawa Jinja. As he walked, new thoughts began to roam through his head: 'She's quite not as flamboyant as Minako-chan, but she is a great cook. She has so much potential to be a star athlete like me that it makes me wonder why she doesn't participate in any athletics at her school. And she's quite a pretty girl too. She's tall, lean, and has a very pretty face. And she's definitely seems much more mature and more sophisticated than any girl Rei-chan's age that I've known. I just hope she's the right one.'

However, as he entered the elevator to go down to the lobby, more thoughts entered his mind: 'However, I feel like I'm rushing into this relationship. Never once have I moved from one relationship to the next this quickly, nor have I ever succumbed to a girl's advances this easily...twice. I'll give Mako-chan a chance, I think she's an amazing young lady, but I feel a little guilty rushing into this relationship after having just broken up with Minako-chan.' And both those thoughts remained on his mind as he met his sister in the lobby to head for home.

_end of Part II_

* * *

...Disclaimer: As usual, Sailor Moon and most of the characters ain't mine, but belong to Naoko Takeuchi. And God bless that woman for creating such great entertainment for all of us with a lot of free time on our hands to enjoy. The English dub belongs to DiC Entertainment and Cloverway, and I only thank them for bringing' it to America, nothin' more. But Kyodai Hino/Hino Kyodai, Tuxedo Inferno, Titanius, and Deanna Kokorono/Kokorono Meijin are MINE (in a growling voice). So, please don't sue me. I'm just a lonely man who ain't got anything but his pride. Well, y'all enjoy this fanfic and e-mail me.

Have fun Sailor Moon fans,  
Viper Inferno (Y2V)


	3. Part III

Title: Forest Fire - Part III

Author: Viper Inferno

Genre: Action Drama

Rated: PG

Author's Notes: I recommend reading Brother of Fire and Five-Alarm Fire before reading this fanfic, since they are part of a series and provide quite a bit of the background for this fanfic.

* * *

**Forest Fire**

_By Viper Inferno_

Part III

_Azabu Institute of Technology, the next day..._

Makoto waited patiently outside of the practice field at the Azabu Tech Stadium as practice was in session. As much as she would have loved to have to have seen Kyodai practice, she was turned away by the university's guards. They had informed her that today's practice was a closed practice due to the nature of their practice for the upcoming scrimmage. Disappointed, she had decided to walk away from the stadium and wait at a spot where she figured Kyodai would easily find her. It wasn't the practice field, but it was at a rather nice location at the university, namely the large marble fountain surrounded by many colors of marigold. It sat between the practice field and the commuters' parking lot where Kyodai's old coupe was parked. So she sat on a bench facing the fountain in the direction of the practice field, with her arms rested on the back of the bench.

Numerous students were walking about the university. Some were walking to and from their afternoon classes, some were walking to and from their dorms, and a few others headed toward the nearby cafeteria for an early dinner. A couple of girls, which Makoto figured by their age were also Azabu Tech students, jogged around the fountain before heading in the direction of the practice field. Makoto let out a dreamy sigh as she gazed at the centerpiece of the fountain as it sprayed water into the air and water cascaded down its sculpted sides. 'I bet it'd be great to go to school here,' she thought to herself, 'I'm seriously going to have to ask Kyodai-kun what life is like here. I bet it's really amazing.' As dreamy as she was, reality quickly hit her, and she let her head hang down in defeat, starring at her feet. 'But if life is so great here, why did Kyodai-kun move back to the Hikawa Jinja?' she wondered. As she continued waiting, she drew circles in the concrete with the toe of her flat slip-on, wondering when Kyodai's practice was going to end.

"Is this one of Odango Atama's friends here at the Azabu Institute of Technology?" a familiar voice directed at Makoto said, grabbing her attention. She lifted her head up and looked behind her to see Mamoru smiling at her and waving to her.

"Oh, good afternoon, Mamoru-san," she greeted.

"I never figured any of Odango's friends would be hanging out here," Mamoru said, "So what are you up to?"

"Oh, just waiting for Kyodai-kun to get out of practice," she replied.

"Kyodai-kun, huh?" said Mamoru, "Since when did he become familiar enough with you for you to call him 'Kyodai-kun'?"

"Since yesterday when Rei-chan brought him over to my apartment," Makoto replied, "Did you know he's a good cook?"

"Yes. He's told me about how his aunt taught him how to cook," Mamoru replied, "So Rei-san introduced him to you too, huh?"

"Yeah, I can tell she's really proud of her brother to introduce him to us. But I'm glad to have met him. He's such a handsome and interesting guy," Makoto explained.

That spelled it all out for Mamoru, as he chuckled under his breath, and then replied, "Now I understand. You have a thing for him, don't you?"

"Yeah, something like that. In a lot of ways, he reminds me of my old flame who broke my heart," she explained.

"I understand," Mamoru said as he turned to continue on his way, "Do be careful, though. It's not good to compare anyone with an ex-boyfriend. Good luck. See 'ya." He waved to her as he walked in the direction of the commuters' parking lot.

With Mamoru gone, she went back to starring at her feet as she resumed drawing circles in the concrete with her toes. "Yeah, I guess you're right," Makoto said to no one in particular, "But someone who is as smart, athletic, yet humble as Kyodai-kun represents my ideal man. And my old flame that left me had a lot of that too. Maybe my old flame is my standard for a boyfriend... or is he my drawback?"

"Hey Mako-chan," a man's voice called out to her minutes later, breaking her from any thoughts she was having. She quickly looked back up to see Kyodai waving at her.

"Kyodai-kun!" she said gleefully as she leaped up from the bench and dashed at Kyodai with the speed of one of his soccer opponents. She then threw herself into his open arms, pushing him a meter back and nearly knocking him to the ground, and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm so glad you found me," she said before giving him a passionate kiss on the lips.

"I'm sorry," Kyodai said after breaking the kiss, "I didn't know we were having a closed practice today."

"It's okay. I found a nice place to sit here by the fountain," Makoto said as she let go of Kyodai and took his hand into hers. The couple then began their walk toward the commuters' parking lot. "This is a pretty school you attend here," she commented.

"Thank you. Mamoru-kun, Motoki-kun, and I all chose to attend this school. Although our dreams are separate, our education is extremely important to us, which is why we chose one of Tokyo's finest schools for Science and Technology," Kyodai explained, "And our soccer team is pretty good too."

"So are you here on a soccer scholarship, or an academic one?" Makoto asked, remembering that Kyodai was not only the star soccer player at Juuban Municipal High School, but also received many academic honors much like her friend Mizuno Ami was receiving.

"Well, the scouts from the Azabu Tech soccer team were quite interested in me, but numerous organizations both here at the university and outside also offered me scholarships due to my academics," Kyodai explained, "So you can say I'm here on both. Even though I'd love to be on Japan's National Soccer Team and play in the World Cup, I have to have something else to do with my life besides soccer. I can only play for so long, you know."

"I understand," said Makoto.

Moments later, the couple arrived at Kyodai's old red coupe. Once there, he removed his keys from his pocket and slid them into the passenger-side door lock. And just as he was about to open the door for Makoto, she placed her hand somewhat firmly on his wrist, stopping him. "It's okay, Kyodai-kun. You don't have to open the door for me," she politely said before letting go of his wrist.

"Ah, no worries," Kyodai replied, thinking nothing of it as he removed his hand from the door handle and proceeded to walk around the back of his car. Makoto then opened the door and climbed into the passenger seat of Kyodai's car. She pulled her long skirt out of the way of the door before pulling it shut, not wanting to get it caught in the door. She then leaned over toward the driver-side door and unlocked it for Kyodai just as he had made it to the driver's side. She then sat back down and readjusted her skirt, laying it perfectly flat against her lap and legs, before buckling her seatbelt.

"Thank you, Mako-chan," Kyodai said as he climbed inside.

"You're welcome, Kyodai-kun," Makoto replied.

Once Kyodai had settled in and buckled up, he slid his key into the ignition and started the engine. It's rather aggressive, yet placid growl drew some interest from Makoto, as if being inside his rather old yet very clean car wasn't enough to peak her interest. "I like you car," she commented as she ran her fingers along the dash in front of her.

"Thank you," Kyodai replied, "It was a gift from my uncle for my 18th birthday, even though he gave it to me months before. He taught me how to drive in it before I was old enough to get my license."

"Yeah, I can't wait until I'm old enough to drive," Makoto commented as she leaned back in her seat. Kyodai then backed out of his parking space and drove cautiously through the packed parking lot, being mindful of the other commuting students as they too were leaving the university for the day.

"So what kind of car is this?" Makoto asked as Kyodai fell in line behind a few other drivers waiting to leave the parking lot.

"This is a '79 Datsun Silvia," Kyodai replied.

"I didn't think it was quite that old," Makoto commented, "But it looks like you've kept this car both clean and in good shape."

"Yeah, I like this car a lot," Kyodai explained, "She may not be much, but she does get me from point A to B, and also has some sport to her as well. And she's taught me a lot of things too."

"Oh really? Sport, you say?" Makoto knowingly said.

"I think it does," Kyodai replied, "You want me to prove it?"

"Sure," Makoto quickly and enthusiastically replied. 'Oh how I love to see the athlete in him, even if it's just through his car,' she thought to herself.

"Hang on," Kyodai warned as he looked for oncoming traffic, then stomped on the accelerator, causing his rear tires to scream like a banshee as they launched his old coupe out of the parking lot and onto the unusually sparsely-traveled city street. Makoto's heart picked up the beat as Kyodai quickly drove his car past the posted speed limit, shifting through the gears like a Formula 1 racer, before letting off the accelerator. He slowed back down to the speed limit after showing off just how sporty a car as old as his sister is can be.

Once she had quickly settled down from that rush of excitement, Makoto turned to Kyodai, smiling, "Wow, not bad at all."

"Yeah, she's not the fastest car around. Obake-kun's new Civic will handily outrun it, but then again his car is the sportier version of the Civic," Kyodai explained, "I've had a lot of good times with this car in the year that I've had it, and I've learned how to handle driving a car in it."

"It sounds like you like your car despite how old it is," Makoto observed.

"Yeah, I like it a lot. It's my first car, you know. You never forget your first car," Kyodai replied, "Your first car is what gave you the freedom to travel anywhere you wanted... on your own schedule. You didn't have to walk for so long to get to places, and you didn't have to rely on public transportation. And sometimes, you just threw point B right out the window and enjoyed Japan's beautiful scenery. At times like that, it's all about the drive."

'The way he explains it... is so romantic,' Makoto thought to herself as Kyodai told his story, with her eyes sparkling as she glanced at his profile while he kept his eyes on the road. As interesting as it all was, it was something she could only dream about at her age. "Yeah, it must really be something. That's why I can't wait until I get a license. But as interesting as it all is, as much as I like your car, I really don't know all that much about cars."

"Not everyone does. But it doesn't take away from the experience of driving in one, or even just riding in one with friends or family," said Kyodai.

Makoto sat silent for a moment, with thoughts drifting through her mind. A lot of what Kyodai was saying made sense to her. She was enjoying being in the car with Kyodai. And the arrangements they had made for where all they possibly wanted to go was just going to have to wait. "Hey Kyodai-kun," she said, breaking the silence.

"Yes?" said Kyodai.

"Can we drive around for a while?" Makoto asked, "I like riding in your car."

"Of course," Kyodai replied. He was about to ask where she wanted to go, out of all the places they had discussed last night. But driving around was perfectly fine for him. After all, it was all about the drive. "Rei-chan likes riding in my car too, even though Gabianni used to drive her places a lot."

"Well, she likes having her brother around. It's one of the reasons I want to ride around in your car, just like Rei-chan," said Makoto.

"And what are the other reasons?" Kyodai asked.

Makoto only stared down at the floorboard in front of her, a little hesitant to answer that question. "Well, ever since they died, I haven't ridden in very many cars," Makoto explained, "We used to drive around and go to all kinds of places, even if it was just taking me to school. Now, with me living by myself and not being old enough to drive around, I usually just walk or take public transportation everywhere I go."

"How old were you when they died? Your parents," Kyodai wondered.

"I was 9 when they died," Makoto replied, "They died when their plane crashed at Haneda Airport"

"I'm sorry, Mako-chan," Kyodai said, placing his hand on Makoto's. Makoto then responded by turning her hand and taking a hold of his. "At least you got to enjoy all kinds of car rides with your family," said Kyodai, "Rei-chan and I, however, never really got to ride in cars very much. Father was always busy with politics and everything, so we never got to ride around in his car very much. And of course, when Mother died, we moved into the Hikawa Jinja with Grandpa, who never drove around anywhere. And when I lived with my uncle, I didn't really ride in his car all that much. So I used to walk to school all the time with Mamoru-kun since he didn't live that far from my uncle. But now and then, my uncle would drive us to school. When I turned 18 and got my license, I started driving myself everywhere except to and from school."

"So now you see a major reason why I like riding in your car," Makoto replied, giving Kyodai's hand a gentle squeeze, "Not only is it with the man I really like, but it also brings back some of those memories I had as a child when my parents and I used to drive around."

"And it also makes for a great place to hold a private conversation without anyone overhearing us," Kyodai added, "In fact, Rei-chan and I sat for a little bit and talked about things before we came in to see you yesterday."

"So that's what took so long for Rei-chan to arrive," Makoto said, giving Kyodai a gentle and teasing punch to his left arm.

"Yeah, Rei-chan likes being with me, especially in my car," said Kyodai.

Upon coming up to a red light in the Roppongi district, Kyodai let go of Makoto's hand so he could downshift as he came to a stop. As they sat and waited at the light behind 2 other cars, Makoto broke the short silence. "Hey Kyodai-kun. When I was waiting for you, I was thinking, and I wanted to ask you," she said.

"What?" Kyodai responded, turning to her and raising his eyebrow.

"Well, after looking at all the sites and seeing all the students walking around, I got to wondering: What's life like being in college?" she asked.

"Well, it wasn't exactly mandatory for me to live in the dorms as a first year, though a lot of first and second years like to live in the dorms away from their parents," Kyodai explained, "I liked living with Uncle Saki and Aunt Reika. But I wanted to be closer to the college so I could have a place to both study and practice for soccer, as well as experience college life."

"And how was it?" Makoto asked.

"Dorm life was interesting," Kyodai explained, "Although education was important to us, a lot of students could be more carefree since high school was over and they weren't living with their parents. Some of the students liked to party and go on dates with girls. As for me, I didn't party very much except for a couple of gatherings with the other guys on the team. And I never went on dates with the girls. Most of my time living at the college was spent either studying or at soccer practice. I did enjoy college life for the few months I lived there, though."

"I can see how that is," said Makoto, "Ami-chan likes to study a lot too and doesn't really pay attention to much else. She probably wouldn't do much with a college life either."

"And Mamoru-kun's the same way too," Kyodai added, "Only he actually has an apartment of his own. He too spends a lot of time in his studies. But he also finds time to go out a lot, whether it's by himself, with me, or some of the other students."

"So if college life was great for you, why did you move back to the Hikawa Jinja?" Makoto asked, which was what she was wondering since she was waiting for him.

"Well, as much as I enjoyed college life, I didn't get to visit Rei-chan as much as I used to when I was in high school," Kyodai explained, "After I moved out of the shrine, I'd visit her and Grandpa every few weeks. And she and I would spend a lot of time together when I visited. But when I started college, I didn't get much of a chance to visit her. And after a few months living in the dorms, I started to really miss her... and Grandpa too. So I decided to move back in with her."

"You and Rei-chan must share a very special bond," Makoto observed, "That's another reason I wished I had a younger or older brother or sister to share that kind of bond with."

"Yes, so now I can see Rei-chan as much as I'd like, go to college, play soccer, and study and everything," said Kyodai.

"I see now," said Makoto, "As for me, I'd love to experience college life. The way you tell it, and the way I saw everyone at the college when I was waiting for you, it's making me want to experience that for myself. But for now, I'm just looking forward to finally making it to high school. I'm only in Grade 8, you know."

"That's very true," said Kyodai, "Just study hard, whether by yourself or with a good study partner, keep your grades up, don't slack off, pass your entrance exams, and you'll get to go to college too someday."

"Okay, I'll do that," Makoto replied, smiling at him as they continued their drive about the lively Roppongi District.

_Roppongi District..._

After their leisurely drive, and being in the Roppongi District, the district of the Minato Ward lying north of Azabu, Kyodai began to look around for a restaurant for him to take Makoto to. Roppongi was well known throughout Tokyo for its bustling nightlife, and was filled with not only various restaurants, but also numerous night clubs, strip clubs, bars, and other nightlife establishments that wouldn't be the most appropriate for a junior high girl, yet was quite attractive for not only college-age people, but also foreign tourists. Kyodai partied here on only a few occasions with the other members of the soccer team, one of those times involving some barhopping as initiation for the first year players. But many of the restaurants around Roppongi were perfect for Kyodai to take Makoto to. So he looked for a restaurant that wasn't too high-class, yet one that wasn't cheap either.

It didn't take long for Kyodai to find a mid-class Italian restaurant for which to take Makoto on his date. So he pulled into the parking lot and quickly found a place to park since it was only early in the evening. The clock on his dash read only 6:14pm. They had driven around for a little over an hour, sharing their thoughts with each other. And throughout the ride, Makoto looked at Kyodai with her eyes sparkling. She was going on a date for the first time since before her last boyfriend had left her. And never once had a guy taken her to dinner at any restaurant, let alone an Italian restaurant in the Roppongi District. So she was more than excited about having dinner with Kyodai. But she then began to question whether she was properly dressed for her date. Even though she couldn't really walk back to her apartment to change, she would much rather have worn one of the few dresses she had on her date with Kyodai rather than the uniform of her old school.

Once Kyodai had parked and shut off his engine, Makoto unbuckled her seatbelt and immediately opened her door to step out. Kyodai only glanced in her direction as she shut the door, with his mouth hanging open. 'Wow, she seems even more carefree and independent than Minako-chan, and more so than even Rei-chan,' Kyodai thought to himself, 'Either that, or she's just really excited about something.' With thoughts about not only how independent Makoto really was, but also how seemingly mature she was for her age, he hadn't noticed Makoto walking around the back of his car and to his door. There, she gently tapped on his window, breaking him of his thoughts and grabbing his attention. He then turned to see her smiling face through the tempered glass that separated them. "Hey Kyodai-kun, are you coming or what?" she said.

"Oh, sorry, Mako-chan," he replied as he unbuckled his seatbelt and reached for his door latch. Makoto backed away as Kyodai opened his door and stepped out. "Hey Mako-chan, I was going to let you out," he said.

"That's okay, Kyodai-kun," Makoto replied as she walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his left arm, "You didn't have to."

And then, the couple began their walk out of the parking lot and down the sidewalk amongst the many people walking the streets of the lively Roppongi District. The crowds here made those in the Juuban Shopping Center seem rather tame. It gave them the sense of just how big and how densely populated Tokyo really was, as if the mall that Kyodai and Minako had visited wasn't enough of a reminder. Although it was crowded, the pedestrian traffic actually flowed very nicely, making the couple's walk somewhat pleasant rather than an uphill battle.

As they reached the restaurant, Kyodai let go of Makoto and reached for the door to open it for her, but she politely grabbed his wrist to stop him. "Kyodai-kun, you don't have to keep opening doors and everything for me. I can take care of myself, you know," she politely said, punctuating that last sentence with a wink to Kyodai.

"I understand," Kyodai said, letting Makoto open the door for the both of them as they walked inside. Makoto then wrapped her arms back around Kyodai's left arm as they walked up to the hostess. She bowed to them politely as she welcomed them to the restaurant. "May we have a non-smoking table for two, please?" he politely asked the hostess.

"Of course, please follow me," the rather attractive college-aged hostess replied. She then led Kyodai and Makoto toward a small table closer to the booths that lined the walls of the restaurant. As they were walking, Makoto noticed a group of girls sitting at a booth, still wearing their school uniforms, although she didn't recognize what school their uniforms were for. However, it made her feel more at ease about wearing her own school uniform to a dinner date with Kyodai, even though she still wished she could've had the chance to change into something nicer for him. The couple then sat at their table as the hostess handed them the menus.

They took little time deciding on what they were going to order, especially since Makoto knew of a majority of the dishes on the menu. She knew what she liked to cook, and knew both of how she liked them and how her friends liked them, so she very quickly picked out what she wanted for dinner. She even helped Kyodai pick out a dish that she highly recommended. 'Wow, she certainly knows a lot about various dishes, even at her age,' Kyodai thought to himself, 'With the right practice and dedication, she could not only own her own restaurant, but also be one of the famous chefs on TV.'

After ordering their dinner, Kyodai and Makoto stared at each other across the table. Makoto rested her head in her palms, propping them up on the table, as she gazed into Kyodai's eyes. "You're very pretty, you know that," Kyodai commented, noting her fair skin and bright smile as her emerald green eyes gazed into his. He also noted her fine ruby-red rose earrings, the very same ones she had worn the day before.

"Thank you, Kyodai-kun," Makoto replied, letting a slight blush materialize in her cheeks.

"I just noticed, I like your rose earrings too," Kyodai commented, "You wore them yesterday too. Do you always wear them?"

"Yes, they're my favorite earrings," Makoto replied, "They were sort of a gift from my late mother, so I've always worn them. Rarely do I ever wear any other earrings besides these."

"They look beautiful, sophisticated, and expensive," Kyodai replied.

"Kind of like your obsidian jewel ring, huh?" Makoto added as she reached for Kyodai's left hand, on which he wore his obsidian jewel ring, and took that hand into hers.

"Yeah, just like I like to wear my ring a lot too," Kyodai agreed.

"So tell me, what are your dreams," Makoto asked as she gently caressed Kyodai's hand.

"Well, as important as education is to me, and as much as I love the sciences and technology and everything, my greatest dream is to play on Japan's National Soccer team and play in the Olympics and even the World Cup," Kyodai explained.

Makoto's eyes only sparkled at Kyodai's words as she gently and affectionately squeezed his hand. 'Kyodai-kun is such a spirited gentleman,' she thought to herself, 'Someone whose athletic prowess and competitive edge light the fires of inspiration for many who aspire to be athletes. And who not only makes me feel much more comfortable with my own athletic prowess, but also admires it, both as myself and as Sailor Jupiter. Yet, he doesn't even know that I am Sailor Jupiter. If only I could tell him. If only I could show him.'

"How about you, Mako-chan?" Kyodai said, breaking Makoto of her thoughts, "What are your dreams?"

"Well," Makoto started, but hesitated, turning away and blushing even more. As much as she wanted to tell him that she wanted to be a bride, she was far too bashful about it to share with him. However, she did have other dreams as well, "I would like to make great cakes for people. I'd make all kinds of cakes: simple cakes, birthday cakes, gourmet cakes, even wedding cakes. I would also like to be a famous chef, kind of like the ones you see on TV who cook such fine meals like it was second-nature to them. And I'd like to own my own restaurant and share with others the fine cooking I have learned. You know, I'd love to share my dream with others and bring happiness to them."

'I thought someone like her would have that kind of dream,' Kyodai thought to himself as he listened, 'Someone who is not only a great chef already at her age, but is also very loving and caring toward both Rei-chan and her friends. She seems like the kind of sophisticated girl who would want to share the kind of thing that makes her happy with others. But something still puzzles me. As strong as she is, as skilled with martial arts as she says she is, and as athletically lean yet quite beautiful as she is, I'm surprised that she doesn't seem to put that to use a little more.'

"It's a very nice dream," Kyodai said to Makoto, "Study hard, get yourself into a college that teaches many things that you can apply to your cooking, and open that restaurant. I would definitely go everyday just to have your legendary cooking."

"Now stop you," Makoto playfully scolded, with her cheeks turning bright red, "My cooking isn't that legendary. I'm only learning, you know."

"Here you go," the waitress said, getting their attention, as she placed their dinner in front of them, "Let me know if there's anything else you need."

"Thank you very much," Kyodai replied before he and Makoto dug into their dinner.

Halfway through their dinner, Makoto broke the silence between them. "Hey Kyodai, I really would loved to have seen you practice out there," Makoto said, prompting Kyodai to look up from his dinner plate. "Are all your practices this week 'closed practices'?" she added.

"Unfortunately, I think they all are," Kyodai replied, "I'm not completely sure, but I'd hate for you to find out the hard way by being turned away by the guards everyday."

"Yeah, that really sucks," Makoto commented, looking down at her half-finished plate, "I bet even Mamoru-san and Motoki-san can't even get in to see a closed practice, huh?"

"No, only soccer team players and staff are aloud around the practice field during practice," said Kyodai, "Sports teams hold closed practices before a game so that other teams can't spy on us."

"I can understand that, but it still sucks for those who like seeing you guys play," said Makoto.

After a few more bites, an idea struck Kyodai like lightning. "Well, Mako-chan, you can still see me at the game this Saturday," Kyodai suggested.

"Really?!" Makoto interjected, her emerald green eyes sparking wide open and twinkling like Christmas lights, "I can still watch you play at the game?"

"Of course, didn't I say so yesterday?" Kyodai asked back.

Makoto only giggled, "Well, yes you did."

"Everyone at the shrine, Mamoru-kun, and even Motoki-kun are going to be there as well," Kyodai explained, "Do you have your half-day of classes this Saturday?"

"Yes, unfortunately," Makoto replied, looking back down at her dinner plate, "But what time is the game?"

"The game starts at 2pm, so you'll be able to go," Kyodai commented, "Of course, I won't be able to take you since I'll be at the stadium for a while, getting ready for the game. In fact, I can have Gabianni and Rei-chan stop by your apartment to pick you up and bring you over to the game. I'm not sure how Gabianni can fit 6 people in his car, but I'm sure he will find a way, especially with both Rei-chan and I insisting him to do so."

"You're too kind, Kyodai-kun," Makoto replied, gently taking Kyodai's hand into hers, bringing it to her lips, and gently kissing it.

"Anything for a beautiful girl who loves athletics like I do," he said, bringing her hand to his lips and kissing her hand back.

After the couple finished their dinner, they took their check and went to the register for Kyodai to pay for their dinner. They then left the restaurant, only to join in with a crowd that was larger than it was before they arrived. However, it was no more difficult for the couple to navigate their way through this crowd as it was the last time. So they merely merged with the pedestrian traffic, with Makoto hanging onto Kyodai's right arm with both of hers, and her head resting on his shoulder.

'I can't believe it,' Makoto thought to herself, 'I'm actually going to see the star athlete in action. Oh, I can't wait to see him at the game. I'm actually looking forward to my half-day of school on Saturday. He likes my cooking, he admires a strong girl like me, and he's quite handsome too. He's even better than the man who broke my heart.'

Soon, they arrived at Kyodai's old coupe. Makoto immediately let go and jogged over to the passenger's side. Kyodai followed behind and slid his key into the door to unlock it. He began to reach for the door handle, and then stopped himself. He remembered Makoto's previous words about how he didn't have to keep opening doors for her. So he let Makoto open the door herself and walked around to his side of the car as Makoto let herself in. When he arrived at the driver's side, he found his door unlocked and casually opened it, then climbed inside. "Where to next, Mako-chan?" Kyodai asked as he slid his key into the ignition.

"Can we drive around some more?" Makoto asked, "I don't care if it's Roppongi, Shiba Koen, Azabu, or Juuban. I just like riding in your car."

"That sounds great," Kyodai replied as he started his car, "I don't mind driving around at all. I feel so free being behind the wheel of my car. And more than that, I have someone to share the experience with."

"Then let's drive around for a while, and not go home until long after sunset," Makoto replied as she leaned back in her seat and enjoyed the ride.

As they left the Roppongi district and subsequently left the Minato Ward, Kyodai took one quick glance at the beautiful brunette in his passenger seat, and smiled. 'She seems to like riding in my car more than anyone else I've ever had in my car, maybe even more than Rei-chan,' Kyodai thought to himself as he turned his eyes back to the road, 'She really does seem more my age in a lot of ways. However, she seems more Rei-chan's age in other ways. I can tell she seems kind of dreamy about something. But then again, was Minako-chan any different? Aren't most girls overly giddy like that on their first date, whether they show it or not? And aren't most girls flattered by a man being a true gentleman and making her feel like a princess? But with her, she's quite independent and likes to do everything for herself, despite letting me help her cook dinner yesterday. It seems like she wants to prove something not only to me, but also to everyone. I guess that's the 14-year-old in her aspiring to be much more adult than even Mamoru-kun and I.'

He then took another quick glance at Makoto, who was relaxing in his passenger seat with her eyes closed. He knew she wasn't asleep, but rather in a trance, enjoying the ride in his car along with the man she loved. 'I like Mako-chan, I really do,' Kyodai thought to himself before turning back to the road, 'But somehow, I still feel like I've rushed into this relationship. The thought of it makes me feel a little uneasy even though I very much enjoyed the times I've been spending with her. Perhaps I'll get over it as I spend more time with her.'

And with those final thoughts, Kyodai continued on his drive throughout the streets of Tokyo with the beautiful brunette enjoying the ride in his passenger's seat on into the evening.

_end of part III_

* * *

...Disclaimer: As usual, Sailor Moon and most of the characters ain't mine, but belong to Naoko Takeuchi. And God bless that woman for creating such great entertainment for all of us with a lot of free time on our hands to enjoy. The English dub belongs to DiC Entertainment and Cloverway, and I only thank them for bringing' it to America, nothin' more. But Kyodai Hino/Hino Kyodai, Tuxedo Inferno, Titanius, and Deanna Kokorono/Kokorono Meijin are MINE (in a growling voice). So, please don't sue me. I'm just a lonely man who ain't got anything but his pride. Well, y'all enjoy this fanfic and e-mail me.

Have fun Sailor Moon fans,  
Viper Inferno (Y2V)


	4. Part IV

Title: Forest Fire - Part IV

Author: Viper Inferno

Genre: Action Drama

Rated: PG for violence and mild adult language

Author's Notes: I recommend reading Brother of Fire and Five-Alarm Fire before reading this fanfic, since they are part of a series and provide quite a bit of the background for this fanfic.

* * *

**Forest Fire**

_By Viper Inferno_

Part IV

_Azabu Institute of Technology Soccer Stadium, that weekend..._

Kyodai sat in the changing room, leaning back against his locker with his eyes closed and his hands clasped together in his lap. There, he let his body fall into a meditative state, letting his mind and body join together as one. While in his serene trance, very few thoughts entered his mind, other than a very dark room lit only by a fire burning tranquilly in a fireplace. He felt like he was fitting in a comfortable and plush recliner that was floating freely in the warmly lit void. It was always his pre-game ritual, ever since he left the Hikawa Jinja to live with his aunt and uncle. As little as he followed Shinto, Buddhism, or Catholicism, he did learn how to meditate and let his body and mind become one through his Karate classes.

He had already donned his soccer uniform, which consisted of a solid red jersey with white stripes down the shoulders and white lettering, including the word "Azabu" in Kanji and a small number 21 on the front and his surname and number in back, black and red shorts, red socks, and black soccer shoes. So he was already prepared and only had his pre-game ritual to undertake. The rest of the players, however, chatted amongst themselves. Some of the 3rd and 4th year students were even hollering a few pre-game chants. Other players, mostly the rookie 1st years and seasoned 2nd years just acted plain rowdy. However the players pumped themselves up for the game, these soccer players did it. All the pre-game anxiety, however, didn't break Kyodai from his meditative state. However, just as he had joined his mind and body together and opened his eyes, the head coached threw the door wide open, slamming it against the wall and grabbing all 38 players' attention, thus silencing their pre-game antics.

"Alright you bunch of good for nothings, listen up. During all that practice, all that hell I put you through, and all those times I busted your chops, I was hard on you for a reason. Some of you first years came to Azabu Tech as the best on your soccer team, one of you as 2-time high school champs," he yelled, glaring directly at Kyodai with a stern face during that last sentence, "All that 'I was the best in my high school' crap doesn't mean shit on this team. This is college now, and all you sorry little excuses for sissy first and second years gotta grow up. This is the big league, and you gotta get your heads out of your asses and get focused. This ain't no walk in the park. I don't want to see any of you rookies, and especially you 3rd and 4th year idiots getting too cocky out there. That's how soccer games are lost. Kobe U is one of the better soccer teams in Japan. A number of their players usually go on to play in the Japan Soccer League. In fact, a couple of their players are being scouted for the Japanese National Team. So you guys need to get motivated, get out there, and make them look like a junior high team. Are you with me Jaguars?"

Every player in the locker room, Kyodai included, yelled and cheered with great motivation in response. "You ladies motivate me," said the coach, "Now get your sorry asses out there and play tough. C'mon, hurry up!"

And with that, all 38 players scurried furiously out of the locker room, pumped up, psyched up, and ready to win themselves a soccer game. They ran through the halls and gathered at the chute. There, they jumped up and down, yelling their pre-game chants, waiting for the signal to burst out. It didn't take long for the signal to sound, a jaguar's growl playing over the stadium's speaker system and resonating throughout, and all 38 players burst out of the chute and onto the soccer field to the roar of a crowd of only 13,000 people. It was a normal-sized crowd for the game being only a scrimmage, and was only half the size of a usual regular season crowd that almost always filled the stadium to capacity.

Once the players had gathered at the bench, waiting for the game to start, Yoruno Obake turned to Kyodai. "So Kyodai-kun, I heard you found yourself a new girlfriend," said Obake.

"Yeah, what about it?" Kyodai replied.

"I can't believe you're actually acting like a real college athlete now and actually dating girls," Obake teased, "Since when did you crawl out of your shell and started dating not just one girl, but now another girl too?"

"Ha ha ha, very funny," Kyodai sarcastically said.

"I mean, out of all the girls that have asked you out since you first walked onto the grounds of Azabu Tech, you never once went on a date with any of them," said Obake.

"It's not like I asked her out or she asked me out," Kyodai responded, "We sort of just clicked, you know?"

"Yeah, I can understand that," Obake replied, "So, is she here now?"

Kyodai turned back behind them, remembering the tickets he had gotten for them a few days earlier, and easily picked Makoto out of the thousands of fans in the crowd. She, along with everyone from the Hikawa Jinja, sat only about 3 rows up from the bottom bleachers. It was perfectly high enough for them to see the whole field, yet close enough to the action. They were excellent seats, ones that an Azabu Tech team member like Kyodai could easily get for his friends and family, even during the regular season.

"Yeah, she's up there," said Kyodai, pointing in her direction to show Obake.

"Wow, she's a tall girl. And she's quite pretty too," Obake commented.

"I think so," Kyodai replied.

Makoto had easily spotted Kyodai and was calling out his name and waving at him. Upon her summons, everyone from the shrine, especially Rei, caught sight of him and started waving at him and cheering him on. Obake and Kyodai both returned their waves before turning back to the other players.

"Are Mamoru-kun and Motoki-kun here too?" Obake asked.

"They're here," Kyodai replied, "They said they'd be in the student section on the other side of the stadium."

Moments later, the team captain, Hasegawa Yoiichi, gathered the players into a massive huddle.

"Alright guys," said Yoiichi, "It's just like the coach said. Don't get cocky out there. I know it's just a scrimmage and it doesn't count toward our record for the season, but we need to play like the National Championship is on the line. Now let's make them look bad."

With his short little motivational speech, all 38 players placed their hands in the center, "One, two, three, JAGS!"

_The game..._

Makoto sat with Rei in the 3rd row from the bottom. They were joined by Grandpa sitting next to Rei, as suggested by Rei so he wouldn't try to pick up Makoto and coerce her into dating him. Behind them in the 4th row sat Yuuichirou, Romano, and Gabianni. Romano, being the huge soccer fan that he was, was more than willing to come to the game. He not only came to cheer his brother-like figure Kyodai along, but also to watch a real college game for he was only a couple years away from possibly joining a college soccer team himself. Gabianni, though, had a rather tough time getting everyone from the shrine and Makoto to the game with plenty of time to spare before the crowd thickened. He had to make two trips to bring everyone since his sedan couldn't fit all 6. He brought everyone from the shrine to the stadium and got them into their seats, then brought Rei along to pick Makoto up to bring her to the stadium. It was a lot of driving, but it was worth it for everyone there. Kyodai and Rei were both grateful for it and were going to owe him for it later.

Makoto and Rei watched on as the referee tossed the ball in to start the game. Obake immediately took the ball and began to take it downfield. Once halfway down the opponent's side of the field, a Kobe player stepped up and challenged him face-to-face. Obake passed the ball to Kyodai just as the Kobe player attempted to steal it from him. Kyodai quickly reflected the ball toward the goal, only to be intercepted by a Kobe guard. But before that player could get the ball past midfield, an Azabu midfielder stole the ball, knocking it to Obake. He immediately passed it to Kyodai down field, who quickly knocked it past the goalie and into the goal.

The Azabu players celebrated on the field as the crowd roared. A jaguar growl from the stadium's speakers resonated throughout as Kyodai and Obake slammed their chests together and gave high fives to their teammates before reassuming their positions on the field.

"Kyodai-kun's good, scoring less than 2 minutes into the game." Makoto commented.

"Didn't I tell you that he was good?" said Rei, "He and Obake-san work well together. I've seen them at practice before."

"Yeah, we've watched him play back when he was playing at Juuban High," Romano added, "Rei-san would invite me along to watch Kyodai-san play since I too love soccer. And Gabianni-kun would drive us there, so the three of us would watch Kyodai-san play while poor Yuuichirou-kun had to endure one of Grandpa's harsh training exercises."

"Hey now, I was at one of Kyodai-kun's games," Yuuichirou objected, "And I was at his second high school championship game."

"Hey, the game's on again," Grandpa cheered, turning everyone's attention back to the game.

The referee tossed the ball into the field to restart the game after Kyodai's goal. Kobe immediately took possession of the ball and carried it down Azabu's side of the field, darting back and forth and passing to each other in order to keep the ball out of Azabu's possession. However, Azabu does manage to keep the ball from reaching any further than halfway down their side of the field. In addition, they do not provide Kobe with a clear shot of the goal. But at 4:23 game time, Yoiichi managed to intercept a pass from one of the Kobe forwards and began to take the ball downfield in quick haste. Once he reached halfway down the field, he passed the ball to Obake, who then quickly kicked it toward the goal. The Kobe goalie leaped toward the ball and knocked it away from the goal, sending it flying back toward one of the Kobe defenders.

With Kobe taking back possession of the ball, the defender immediately passes the ball away from Yoiichi, and Obake and toward his team's midfielders. Ad just as quickly as the midfielder took the ball, he passed it to one of Kobe's forwards and immediately sends it toward Azabu's goal. Azabu's goalie easily bats the ball away and toward one of Azabu's defenders, who passes it to the midfielders. This back and forth battle continues for another minute, with possession switching between teams quite often, but finally stops when Kyodai knocks the ball away from a Kobe midfielder and out of the field, causing a toss-in.

"Mako-chan, you'd be great at this sport," said Rei.

"Yeah, I guess so," said Makoto, trying to keep her girlish figure, "I just never really considered playing soccer."

The girls, as well as the guys, began to cheer as an Azabu defender steals the ball and passes across the field to Obake. He immediately passed it to Kyodai, who swiftly kicked the ball to Kobe's goal, missing it by inches. With the missed goal, Kobe's goalie kicked the ball back into play and to one of his defenders. But just as the defender took passed it toward one of his midfielders, Yoiichi blocked the pass with his head, knocking it toward Obake, who quickly kicked it past the goalie and into the goal. The Hikawa Jinja group, along with the rest of the crowd, screamed, yelled, and cheered as the jaguar's growl resonated throughout the stadium.

"You go Kyodai," Rei yelled out toward the field.

"Way to go, Kyodai-kun," Makoto cheered.

"But Kyodai-kun didn't score the goal, nor was he a part of that play," said Yuuichirou.

"Does it look like we care?" Rei argued, "We're here to cheer him on."

"Yeah Yuuichirou-kun," Romano added, "What do you know about cheering on a soccer game?"

"You're both right," Gabianni butted in, "Kyodai-san wasn't part of that play. But we are all here to cheer him on."

"Isn't Kyodai-kun the only first year out there?" Makoto asked.

"The program says he's the only first year starter, with the rest of the first years being substitutes," said Rei, "But I'm sure the coach has sent a couple out since the game started."

"GO TECH!" the crowd yelled as the referee tossed the ball in to restart the game. Kobe's forward immediately took possession of the ball and quickly dribbled it past Azabu's midfielders and toward the goal. Just before one of Azabu's defenders slid toward him to knock the ball away, the Kobe player kicked it at Azabu's goal, missing by a meter. Then, Azabu's goalie kicked it to one of his midfielders downfield, who took the ball downfield and passed it to Yoiichi. Yoichi passed the ball to Kyodai who took it past one defender before passing it back to Yoiichi. Once Yoiichi took the ball and set himself up, he kicked it hard toward the goal. However, the ball flew wide right and missed.

This miss caused Makoto's wild urges to come out as she stepped down to the empty second row seat in front of her and began yelling. "What the hell was that, you idiot?" she insulted, "The goal was a meter in front of you. How the hell can the team captain miss? Hey Coach, send someone in who can actually kick."

Although the Azabu head coach heard every word Makoto was yelling, with Makoto having hopped down into the second row to throw her insults, but he just kept looking toward the game on the field and ignored her, concentrating only on how his men were performing. Makoto's yelling certainly wasn't the first bout of fan insults he had ever heard, nor would they even be his last.

After Kobe's goalie kicked the ball back into play, they took the ball to Azabu's side of the field, dodging both Kyodai and Obake before passing it to one of his forwards. Kobe's forward bumps into one of Azabu's defenders before sending it toward the goal, only to have it blocked by Azabu's goalie. This back and forth trading of possession continued on for another three minutes. This trading of possessions included a few toss in's, a corner kick, and even an offside offense by Kobe. Although it gave Azabu the immediate advantage as they passed the ball to Kyodai who reflected it toward the goal. But this attempt was blocked by Kobe's goalie. A defender took possession of the ball and sent it flying across the field to one of Kobe's forwards, who sent it past Azabu's goalie and into the goal.

Most of the crowd booed quite loudly, filling the entire stadium with their resonant jeers, as Makoto's string of insults continued. "Oh my god, hello?!" she yelled in response, "What the hell was that?!"

"It's called Kobe scoring their first point," said Yuuichirou.

"Well, somebody should've been there to take that ball from him before he scored," Makoto commented, sitting back in her seat in the third row and crossing her arms in disappointment, "Those lazy defenders were at least 15 meters away from him and should've been covering him."

"You seem to know plenty about this sport, Makoto-san," Romano commented, "You're pretty tall, strong, and athletic enough. You should try out for this sport back at your school."

"Umm..." Makoto paused, trying to regain her modesty, "I would, but... my home economics classes and my Karate classes kinda take up most of my schedule."

"You can free up your schedule for it, can you?" Romano asked.

"Yeah, Romano-kun here studies for his high school classes, works at the shrine and takes Karate classes with me, and still manages to play soccer for Juuban High School," Gabianni added.

"Yeah, maybe I'll give it some thought," Makoto meekly said before turning back to the game.

"Hey you guys, we're here to cheer my grandson on," said Grandpa, "And the game's starting again."

At 12:43, the referee tossed the ball back into play. One of Kobe's forwards immediately took possession of the ball from Yoiichi and quickly took it downfield. As much as Azabu's players tried to get in the way of the Kobe players, they passed the ball back and forth to each other across the entire width of the field. This made things difficult for the Azabu team as they struggled to regain possession from Kobe.

"Come on guys, you gotta take that bloody ball from them," Makoto yelled, squeezing through the people sitting in the second and first rows and hanging out over the railing separating her from the grassy field below, "Come on, Kyodai-kun, help your team out and play some defense."

But her insults and cheers fell on deaf ears as the ball finally found its way past most of Azabu's players and closer to the goal, where Kobe's star forward kicked the ball past Azabu's goalie by a wide margin and into the goal. As the Kobe players celebrated on the field, Makoto gritted her teeth at the sight of Kobe scoring again.

"What the hell is the matter with you, Goalie? You can't see either? You gotta block the damn ball," she yelled, loud enough for the Azabu players on the bench some short distance in front of her to hear her.

Moments later, after all the players retook their positions on the field, the referee tossed the ball back into play to restart. Yoiichi beat the Kobe player to the ball and quickly passed it to Obake. Kyodai quickly sprinted past most of Kobe's players while Obake handled the ball like a pro, keeping it away from the Kobe midfielders. Obake then found an opening toward the goal, with Kyodai being in the perfect position to score the goal with little opposition. But as he passed it to Kyodai, Kobe's defenders quickly sprinted forward. And when Kyodai took the ball, the assistant referee raised a flag to signal an offside offense, followed by the referee blowing his whistle and pointing his flag downward, thus stopping the play.

"What?!" Rei exclaimed, appalled at the referee's call.

Makoto, who had already squeezed her way back into her seat, was more than livid. "Offside?! What the hell do you mean 'Offside'? There were at least two other players between Kyodai-kun and the goalie," she yelled toward the field.

"Didn't you see Kobe's defenders rush forward before Kyodai touched the ball?" Romano pointed out, "That's called an offside trap. It can be a risky tactic, but it's used to force the attacking team into an offside offense so they can get the indirect free kick."

"What a dirty trick to play on my Kyodai-kun," Makoto commented before jumping over the people second row and squeezing through the first row people and stopping at the railing. "You cowards," Makoto insulted, "How the hell could you play such a dirty trick on my Kyodai-kun. Didn't your mothers ever teach you to play fair? Why don't you idiots learn how to play like real men and not stoop down to such damned low plays like that? The great PelИ would be pissed off at you jackasses right now."

Rei only hung her head in disappointment as Makoto's string of insults continued as Kobe's player took his free kick toward Azabu's goal. "I don't think the Kobe players can hear you, Mako-chan," she said under her breath, "Besides, you really should act more lady-like."

After one of Kobe's players knocked the ball out of bounds, the head coach called Obake and Kyodai to the bench to get some much needed rest, having played for quite a bit of the game already. In their places, he sent in a few substitutes back onto the field just before the Azabu defender tossed the ball back into play. Kyodai grabbed a towel and joined Obake on the bench to cool off after having run all over the field for over 20 minutes. However, Rei and Makoto did not like the coach's decision in the least bit, especially with the offside offense happening only 15 seconds prior.

"What?! Put my brother back out there," Rei yelled, responding in anger to her brother being benched.

"Yeah, Coach. We want Hino Kyodai-sama," Makoto yelled, throwing more insults, "Why don't you bench those defenders who couldn't even stop Kobe from scoring those last goals and send Kyodai back in. He can play 10 times better than those slugs can."

The coach only ignored Makoto's yelling as he walked down the sidelines, following along with the players on the field.

"Come on, Coach. I have a dead grandmother who can run this team better than you can," Makoto insulted.

One of the other Azabu substitutes got fed up with turned back toward Makoto, "Hey you up there, shut up."

"What, you want a piece of me?" Makoto yells, putting one foot forward and hanging over the railing, itching for a fight.

Upon hearing Makoto's taunting, Rei quickly squeezed past the people between them and quickly grabbed a hold of Makoto's upper arms. "Calm down, Mako-chan. Calm down," said Rei, pulling her away from the railing, "We're supposed to be cheering Kyodai on."

Kyodai had heard both her insults toward the coach and her taunting of one of his teammates. He only hung his head in disappointment, sweat drop hanging and all, and threw his towel over top of his head to hide the displeased look on his face. 'She seems awfully brash this time,' Kyodai thought to himself, 'This is far from the sophistication she was showing last weekend and the giddiness she showed back on Monday.' He then let out a sigh after Rei had calmed Makoto down and brought her back to their seats. Although he didn't see it, he did hear them. 'Oh well, I guess every rose has its thorns. Maybe this is how she is at sports games, where she can have a good excuse to throw sophistication out the window. But she still should tone it down a little.'

A couple minutes later in the game, the coach benched two players and sent Kyodai and Obake back out onto the field. Makoto, Rei, and everyone from the Hikawa Jinja began cheering again as Kyodai ran back out onto the field and took his position as an outside forward. An Azabu midfielder tossed the ball to the Yoiichi, who immediately passed it to Obake downfield. He bounced it off his head toward the goal, but the Kobe goalie batted it back and toward one of his defenders. However, Kyodai leaped between the ball and the defender and swung his left foot at it, connecting with the ball and sending it into the goal. He, Obake, and Yoiichi leaped into the air and slammed their chests together in celebration as the crowd cheered, the jaguar growl sounds, and the Hikawa Jinja group went hog wild over Kyodai's goal.

"That's my Kyodai-kun," Makoto yells as the two girls cheer and whistled and Romano jumped up and down behind them.

"Way to go, Kyodai," Grandpa yelled as loud as his elderly lungs would let him.

"Kyodai! Kyodai!" Rei cheered before blowing a few more whistles.

Later on, at halftime, the score was 4-2 with Azabu leading. With the players heading back into the locker room to cool off for the half, the girls quickly stood from their seats. "Romano, can you keep an eye on Grandpa for me while we go to the concession stand?" Rei instructed.

"Sure thing, Rei-san," Romano replied, "Can you please bring me some popcorn?"

"And can you bring me some green tea?" Grandpa requested.

"Yes, we'll do that for you guys," Rei replied as she joined Makoto, Yuuichirou, and Gabianni in their fight through the crowds. Moments later, they beat most of the flow of traffic and made it to the concession area. There, they waited in the somewhat crowded line, where a large number of fans didn't even wait for the half before flooding the concourse.

"It's a great game so far," Yuuichirou commented.

"Kyodai-kun's really as good as everybody says he is," said Makoto.

"He wasn't the playmaker on Juuban High School's 2-time championship team for nothing," Gabianni commented, "He seems even better now than he was back in high school. I'm glad he isn't letting his past achievements in the sport get to his head. I think being on a college team is helping him to grow even more, and be humble at the same time."

"It's not just his athleticism," Rei explained, "He can read the field pretty well, even during fast-paced attacks. It's like he feels the aura of the other players around him, and can pick out the best lines to attack."

"I don't think it's quite that," Gabianni commented, "I just think Kyodai-san's a good strategist with excellent eyes."

"We can argue this all day, Gabianni. But sometimes your eyes aren't enough to gain full awareness of the field, and you know that," Rei argued back.

"I can agree with Rei-chan on that a little," said Makoto, "I learned about situation awareness in Karate, feeling everything and everyone around me. It's all apart of being one with your inner chi."

"Yeah, you girls are right about that," Gabianni surrendered.

Upon finally reaching the concession stand, they grab a few snow cones, some dumplings, some popcorn, some pocky, and a few cups of tea. With enough for everyone to carry, the girls and guys walk more casually through the people on their way back to the stands. Once there, they witnessed very little going on out on the field as various stadium staff worked on the field to clean up any loose garbage that had strayed out onto the field and prepped the field for the second half.

After everyone from the Hikawa Jinja got settled back into their seats, they dug into their halftime snacks. Very little was said between them, especially with Kyodai being in the locker room and not on the field for them to cheer him on. But after another 10 minutes, the stadium staff began to clear the field. This struck Romano as quite familiar, having watched a couple soccer games himself and knowing what was coming up. "Hey everyone, the half's going to start soon," he said, getting their attention. Moments later, the commentator began to speak, getting the crowd's attention, as the two teams gathered in their opposite chutes. Then, the crowd roared as Azabu's team took to the field after the Kobe players.

Kyodai stayed relatively close to the wall which separated the playing field from the stands elevated above the field. He finally caught Makoto, Rei, and everyone from the Hikawa Jinja waving at him and cheering him on. Kyodai waved back with a delighted smile on his face. After acknowledging their cheering, he returned to the benches with the rest of his teammates. And thus, the second half began.

For the remainder of the game, Makoto's insults had toned down a few levels, with much of her yelling being directed more toward errors and fouls committed by the Azabu players, bad calls by the referee (albeit in her opinion), and obvious tackles and other fouls committed against Azabu Tech. What really ignited her fiery temper was Obake getting yellow carded at 78:14 game time for a foul he didn't commit, which was the only time she let a rather large string of slurs and insults fly.

Rei was every bit as much into the game as Makoto was, and finally decided to give up on quelling her friend's fiery temper by letting her own quick temper fly. Although she didn't throw any insults, she did scream quite a bit. She screamed at many of the bad plays and bad referee calls, and she screamed for Kyodai to cheer him on. She looked every bit as much of a fan as every other Azabu Tech fan in the stadium, if not more. She was always Kyodai's biggest supporter, and it showed even more during the second half.

The team, however, performed much better defensively, despite giving up 3 goals to Kobe compared to the 2 they gave up in the first half. Offensively, they scored 5 goals in the second half. One goal was Kyodai's, 1 was Obake's, 2 were Yoiichi's, and 1 was by a substitute for Obake after his yellow card offense. In the end, the Azabu Institute of Technology won the game, with a score of 9-5.

"Banzai!" the three younger guys cheered as the timer reached 90:00.

"Way to go, Kyodai!" Grandpa yelled, albeit with a bit of a muffled yell, having yelled off and on as much as his elderly lungs would allow him without losing his voice.

Makoto and Rei jumped up and down, hugging each other in celebration of Kyodai's team's win. "They did it," said Rei.

"Kyodai-kun did great out there," Makoto commented, clapping and jumping up and down along with Rei.

After some on the field celebrating with his teammates, Kyodai dashed toward the stands and jumped the wall and over the railing. Once there, he flew into his sister's arms, embracing her tightly.

"You were great out there, Kyodai," said Rei.

"Thank you, Rei-chan," he replied. He then let go of Rei and opened his arms to Makoto, allowing her to jump into his arms.

"Kyodai-kun, I don't care what those referees say, and I don't care if the coach benches you sometimes, you're the best," she said before giving Kyodai a quick kiss.

"Thanks, Mako-chan," he replied as they shared a few more quick kisses, "I'll see you all later." He then let go of Makoto and squeezed his way through the 2 rows of people in front of him, receiving numerous pats on the shoulders and back from the fans as she squeezed through. Once at the railing, he hopped over and back onto the field, then ran back to his celebrating teammates as they bade their way off the field and toward their locker room.

"I wouldn't expect him home until late tonight," said Rei.

"Why is that?" Makoto asked.

"Well, they won. So you can bet Kyodai's gonna party with Obake-san and the rest of the team. I hear that's what a lot of college soccer players do when they win a game," said Rei. With Kyodai having disappeared through the chute, they and everyone from the Hikawa Jinja began their long trek out of the stadium, fighting the crowd along the way. After a good 10 minutes of making their way out of the stands and through the concourse, and subsequently out of the stadium, they began walking toward Gabianni's car.

"Hey Gabianni, I'm going to take the bus with Mako-chan back to her apartment so you won't have to make two trips for us," said Rei, "I really thank you for going through the trouble of bringing her here to see Kyodai."

"You're welcome, Rei-san," Gabianni replied, "You girls have a good time."

From there, they parted ways, with the guys walking toward Gabianni's car, and Makoto and Rei walking toward the nearby bus stop.

"So Rei-chan, do you want to spend the night at my place since we don't have school tomorrow?" Makoto asked.

"Why not," Rei replied, "It's been a while since we had a sleepover. Besides, I'm quite sure it's going to be late when Kyodai finally makes it home from whatever partying the rest of the team has planned, even if it was a scrimmage."

_Hikawa Jinja, a week later..._

After having finished his chores for the morning, Kyodai flopped down on the couch in the living room and rested his head back. It had taken him longer than usual for him to do his chores, as various thoughts had been on his mind throughout. In all actuality, the thoughts had been on his mind for a few days now since his last date with Makoto and her visit to an open practice the next day. Thoughts about just how tender of a girl she can be entered his mind. Makoto was quite the romantic, and seemed to have a good way with words despite her somewhat lax dedication to her studies. She had her moments where she was very lady-like, taking on the role like that of a housewife, especially at her house. She always kept her apartment neat, clean, and well organized. In addition, she was an extremely adept cook for a girl her age. The fact that such a beautiful young lady could take on so many responsibilities all at once, and keep up with school at the same time, reminded Kyodai more of Mamoru, which made her seem more his age.

However, she also had her more childish moments, especially with her friendly bickering with Minako over him. In addition, she often complained about her harsh trials at school. Whenever he was over at her apartment to help her study, Makoto seemed to not take her schooling seriously, but rather enjoying Kyodai's presence and gazing at him with her twinkling eyes. She also had a bit of a fangirl aura about her, displaying a subdued but nonetheless overly giddy nature like the girl snagging a date with a celebrity. 'Perhaps she is rather young in love, almost like I was the first boyfriend she ever had,' he thought to himself, 'But most girls who have asked me out, Minako-chan and Mako-chan included, seemed to act like I was their first ever and only love, and seemed to enjoy the fact of having me as a boyfriend more than anything else.'

And then, there was Makoto's more aggressive side, the side that is quite contrary to how she acts when she is around company and amongst a group of strangers. She displayed some of her aggressive side at last week's scrimmage, cheering him on, cheering his team on, and throwing disapprovals and insults at the game and the referees like a true soccer fan. 'She really should go to more soccer games,' Kyodai thought to himself, analyzing Makoto's love for sports, 'As much as she knows about the game, from what Romano-san has told me, and as huge of a fan as she seems to be, I often wonder why a strong and athletic girl like her doesn't take up the sport. It would certainly work out a lot of that bottled up energy she has.'

But, she also had an even more aggressive side, which she displayed when one of his teammates yelled at her for her insulting remarks. The fact that she stepped forward to challenge a bigger and older man struck him as rather surprising. Although her short temper did bother him a little, it really wasn't that much different from his sister's fiery temper. But the fact that she'd challenge a bigger man to a fight did show that she was more than capable of taking care of herself. That, and the fact that she liked to do everything herself proved to Kyodai that she was used to doing everything herself, and wasn't used to having a gentleman treat her like a lady and do things for her without her even asking. Kyodai was taught by both his grandfather and his aunt and uncle how to be a proper gentleman to a lady. It was all about doing things for her without even asking, which showed how much he thought about her. However, Makoto was quite reluctant to let him prove that to her.

And finally, with all those thoughts, Kyodai came to a somewhat grim but nonetheless revealing conclusion. 'Mako-chan. Somehow, she isn't quite as sophisticated as she shows. I can tell she is trying her best, but her other side, her darker side, has a tendency to rear its head when her temper flares up,' Kyodai thought to himself, 'The more I think about her, the less she seems like the princess in my dreams. The real princess in my dreams was romantic, albeit somewhat reluctant to show it. She was rather timid in showing her feelings of love, but not afraid to show just how much of a lady she really was. Mako-chan is much more sure of herself in many ways, especially with her feelings toward a man. She certainly isn't afraid to share her feelings of love and admiration toward another. She is confident in her ability to take care of herself, and isn't afraid to show it. However, she seems to be hiding something somewhat darker, like there is a part of herself that she doesn't like to share with any guy, or anybody for that matter. And I have a feeling it has something to do with her quick temper and aggressive attitude. Then again, she's lived alone for years and probably needed it help her cope. Somehow, my heart tells me she's not the princess. But then again, it's probably because I have rushed into this relationship rather hastily. Oh Mako-chan, I like you, but can we be friends before we explore our relationship any further?'

With those final thoughts, Kyodai rested his head on the back of the sofa. "What do I do?" he asked himself aloud, "What have I gotten myself into?"

"Are you alright Kyodai?" a girl's voice asked him.

Kyodai lifted his head from the back of the sofa to see Rei, wearing her red and white miko kimono, wearing a troubled look on her face seemingly mirroring his. "You haven't looked this down since you and Minako-chan broke up," she added.

"It's nothing like that," Kyodai replied.

"Then what is it?" Rei beckoned, sitting down next to Kyodai.

'She's Mako-chan's friend too. I'm sure she'll understand,' Kyodai thought to himself before leaning his head back into the back of the sofa. "Well, somehow, I'm not sure if Mako-chan's quite the right girl for me," he replied.

"Really?" Rei responded, confused at Kyodai's remark.

"Yeah, at least not now," Kyodai replied.

"What do you mean by 'not quite the right girl'?" Rei asked.

"Well, Mako-chan seems to be a rather independent and also an aggressive type of person. She also has a short temper, shorter than yours even," he explained.

"Humph!" Rei responded in disgust, crossing her arms and turning haughtily away from Kyodai.

"She hardly lets me be a gentleman," Kyodai continued, "You and I were both taught to think of others before ourselves. I was taught to be a gentleman to a lady, to do things for her without her asking, and show her through my actions how much I think about her. But unless she asks me, like when I helped her cook that day, she really doesn't let me do anything for her. She likes to do everything by herself. Although I do admire it, it can also be troubling to someone like me and Mamoru-kun who were taught to be gentlemen."

"She likes to do everything herself," said Rei, "It's not just from the fact that she's lived alone since her parents died. Let me tell you a little secret. She does it to fit in with some of the other girls. Most of the other girls at both her old school and at Usagi's school seem intimidated by a tall, lean, and athletic girl like her and immediately label her as not being a lady."

"I can tell she's a little ashamed of her physical prowess," said Kyodai, "But I can also tell she tries too hard to be more lady-like rather than letting it flow naturally. I already know she is a true lady, despite her quick and aggressive temper, but she overdoes it sometimes and not enough at other times."

"I understand," Rei replied.

"You were right," Kyodai replied, "Perhaps it was too early to be thinking about her liking me."

"Oh?" said Rei.

"Ever since that night when we were at her apartment, when I helped her cook, when our feelings for each other ignited, I had this beckoning feeling that perhaps I was rushing into it," Kyodai explained, "Especially after having just ended a relationship with Minako-chan."

"So, what are you gonna do?" Rei asks.

"I still want to be her friend. She really is quite mature for her age, even though she has her moments when she acts like a typical teenage schoolgirl. Just the fact that she's taken care of herself for so long while going to school makes her seem more my age. You found yourself a really good group of friends," said Kyodai.

"Then tell her," said Rei, "Tell her that you're not ready for a relationship and you want to be her friend. Tell her how you feel about her. I'm sure she'll understand. Anyway, I'm heading to the fire room to do my weekly fire reading. I'll see you later." She then rose from the couch and walked toward the fire room, leaking Kyodai to his thoughts.

_Juuban Park, that afternoon..._

Kyodai had decided to walk to the park as he thought about his conversation with Rei regarding Makoto. It gave him a chance to really think about what to say to Makoto, as opposed to driving to the park which wouldn't have taken him very long at all. He knew Makoto was going to be at the park since they had decided to get together on this Sunday afternoon. But it was only last night and today that these feelings of discomfort had finally taken center stage in his mind. And now, he had to think about a way to end the relationship, or at least put it on hold, and still leave the door open.

Moments later, he arrived to the park to see Makoto sitting on a bench next to the lakeside trail, facing the lake. As if by instinct, she turned back to find Kyodai approaching her and smiled. "Kyodai-kun!" she exclaimed as she jumped up from the bench and dashed toward Kyodai. In to time at all, she collided with him, causing him to step back quite a distance to keep from falling, and then embraced him and kissed him on the cheek. "Kyodai-kun, I'm so glad you..." she said, pausing when she saw the look on Kyodai's face. Her beaming face changed to that of a more worried one when she saw that Kyodai wasn't making much of an effort to return her love. Her eyes widened as she let go of him and backed off a bit, "What is it Kyodai? What's wrong?"

"Mako-chan, I'm not sure just how to say this," said Kyodai. "I'm really no good at this."

Makoto's heart started to race at the sound of Kyodai's response. Something didn't feel right to her, but she tried not to show her concern when she turned back to Kyodai. "Just tell me, dammit. I don't like guessing games," she said.

Kyodai hesitated, once again thinking about how to tell her. But he decided to wing it as he gathered up all his inner strength. "Mako-chan, I like you a lot, and I think we have a great friendship going. But somehow, I'm not sure if I'm quite ready for this relationship."

"What?!" said Makoto, with her eyes widening to about twice their normal size in great shock. She took a couple more steps back as a rush of adrenaline accompanied her rather abrupt response, burning as it flowed through her veins. 'No, it can't be,' she thought to herself, clutching her chest with her right hand, 'Kyodai-kun can't be leaving me. Dammit, this is just like my last boyfriend. He didn't think he was ready either, only for me to find out that he had soon found love with my best friend Tomoko.'

"What the hell do you mean?" Makoto barked. 'No, no, no, he can't be dumping me,' she thought to herself as a couple tears began to stream down her cheeks, 'And I thought we were really enjoying our time together. Why? Why is this happening to me again? Why, when I find a truly amazing guy, even better than my old boyfriend who broke my heart, does he break my heart too? No!'

"I somehow feel I've rushed into this relationship and didn't give myself a chance to recover from Minako-chan dumping me. I just don't think you're right girl for me... at least not yet," he tried explaining as diplomatically as possible.

"Not right?!" she yelled, being the only words she really paid attention to. By then, the burning sensation had reached her eyes, summoning a few more tears. In addition, the adrenaline rush gathered in her arms as she removed her right hand from her chest and swung it at Kyodai, connecting with his face with shattering force, sending him flying toward the lake by a good 10 meters. She then ran up to him, scaring a few ducks away, and gave him a hard kick to the side, sending him flying even closer to the lake. She then ran up to him again as he was trying to recover.

"Mako-chan, please..." he strained to say before Makoto picked him up from the ground. She then slapped him in the face a couple times.

"Why Kyodai, why?" she whimpered, before giving him another powerful punch to the face. She then lifted him off the ground and threw him toward the lake again, sending him on a hard landing right at the water's edge. She then broke out into a fierce weep as she ran away. After suffering her wrath, Kyodai only lied there, dazed and confused, and convinced himself that it was his punishment for having rushed into his relationship with her. Then, the beating he had taken overtook him, having developed a large welt on the face and quite a visible nosebleed, as he faded in and out of consciousness.

_Hours later..._

Kyodai awoke to discover that he was no longer next to the lake at the park, where Makoto had sent him flying to. Rather he was lying on a couch in the Hikawa Jinja. This struck Kyodai as rather confusing as he wondered why he was back at the Hikawa Jinja. He distinctly remembered taking a walk to the park to see Makoto, and to share with her his discomfort with the relationship and desire to keep a strong friendship. But that meeting ended rather badly, and now he was lying on a couch at the Hikawa Jinja. Was it all a dream? Did he dream about breaking up with Makoto and her beating him up pretty badly as a result? 'It had to be a dream,' Kyodai thought to himself, 'How else would I be here instead of back at the park?'

All of a sudden, Kyodai felt a hand squeeze his rather affectionately. It was like that hand was always holding his, only to squeeze his as he awoke from his nightmare. "Kyodai, are you okay?" Rei's voice said to him.

Kyodai turned his head to see Rei, still wearing her miko kimono, wearing a very worried look on her face, much like what he had remembered earlier. But as he went to sit up from lying down on the couch, a sharp pain struck him in the side, causing him to wince. In response, he slowly lied back down on the couch.

"Easy Kyodai," said Rei, letting go of his hand and placing her hands on his shoulders to guide him back down, "Just lie there, okay? Yuuichirou's got another icepack coming."

'No, it wasn't a dream after all,' Kyodai thought to himself, 'I really did go to the park to see Mako-chan. I really did try to tell her that I wasn't ready for a relationship and wanted to stay friends. And she really did kick my ass for it.'

"I guess she took that rather well," said Kyodai, finally realizing that Makoto really did beat him up.

"You're lucky she did take it easy on you," said Rei, "With the way Makoto can be, you could've easily ended up in the emergency room."

"She really is one strong girl if she can kick my ass so easily," Kyodai commented, "Even if I wasn't putting up any kind of fight."

"Yeah, she got kicked out of her old school for picking fights with some of the students. So she transferred to the same school as Usagi and Ami after that," Rei explained.

"So that was another thing she was hiding," Kyodai concluded.

"Believe me, Kyodai, it's nothing she's proud of. So of course she's going to be reluctant to admit it. When she transferred to Juuban Junior High, she had a reputation for being a rough girl, almost like one who belonged to a motorcycle gang. It wasn't until Usagi approached her at school when she learned that Makoto really just wanted to have a friend, and didn't like the reputation she carried," said Rei.

"Yeah, now I know she's not right for me," said Kyodai.

"Don't worry about it, you'll find the right girl someday," said Rei, "Just give yourself some time."

"What I'm worried about now is my reputation. You know, getting beat up by a junior high girl does not look good on a college soccer player. At least no one was there to see it," Kyodai babbled.

"You could always say a car hit you at night, and you couldn't see neither what kind it was nor what its license number was," suggested Rei, "It explains your bruised side and the welt on your face."

"Yeah, that might work," Kyodai agreed. Through that whole conversation, Kyodai had forgotten about being in the Hikawa Jinja. He was just at the park not that long ago. And he remembered being at the park when Makoto gave him a thrashing. But now he was at the Hikawa Jinja, and it puzzled him.

"How did I get here anyway? I distinctly remember lying on the ground before I sort of dozed off," Kyodai asked, "Weren't you were doing your Shinto fire reading?"

"Yuuichirou found you unconscious next to the lake at the park," Rei replied, "With all that harsh training that Grandpa puts him through, he found it rather easy to carry you to a bench while Gabianni brought his car to bring you home."

"I see," said Kyodai.

Yuuichirou walked back into the living room, carrying a class of water and a couple of icepacks. He set the water down on the table and handed the icepacks to Kyodai.

"Thanks Yuuichirou-kun," said Kyodai.

"No problem," said Yuuichirou, "It's not everyday that someone dumps Makoto-san and lives to tell the tale."

"Thanks, you're reassuring," Kyodai sarcastically said as he placed the icepacks on his welted face and his throbbing side.

"Your side should heal in time for your first game next week," said Rei, "I'd take it easy until then if I were you."

"Thanks for your concern, Rei-chan, but I'm still gonna practice," said Kyodai.

"Come on, Kyodai. I've seen how brutal soccer can be," said Rei, "You'll just hurt yourself even more."

"Thanks Rei-chan, I'll keep that in mind," said Kyodai as he removed the icepack from his side and struggled to get up, keeping the other ice pack on his face.

"Geez, Kyodai, you're so stubborn about these things," said Rei, hanging her head in defeat with a sweat drop hanging.

"Thank you, Rei-chan... for everything," said Kyodai as he rose from the couch and walked towards his room, "I'm going to relax in my room for a little bit before I take a nice, long hot bath. Maybe that'll help a little."

Rei immediately jumped to her feet, with a thought about Makoto hitting her mind, and ran to follow him. "Kyodai!" she called. He paused at his doorway, and then turned to his sister.

"Mako-chan... she still wants to be your friend," said Rei.

"Really now?" Kyodai refuted.

"Yeah. She called me after she got home, crying," Rei explained, "She feels bad for the way she acted, and she feels really bad for hurting you. She was crying not only because you dumped her, but she was also crying because she's afraid she'll lose your friendship too because of her actions."

"So now she'll listen to reason, huh?" said Kyodai.

"Don't worry about it. I told her what you told me," said Rei, "She's really sorry she didn't listen to you, and still wants to be your friend."

With that, Kyodai let out a sigh of reassurance, and then turned to Rei and smiled. She then gently slid her arms around him, remembering to take it easy on his injured side. "At least you still have me," she said, giving him a gentle hug.

"Yeah, you're right," he replied, dropping the icepack and wrapping both his arms around his sister, hugging her very tightly as he closed his eyes.

"I love you, Kyodai," said Rei.

"I love you too, Imuto-chan," said Kyodai. 'Yes,' Kyodai thought to himself as he held Rei close to him, 'No matter how many girls throw themselves at me, no matter how few I actually date, they can come and go. Not all relationships last. But no matter what, I'll always have a little sister who is always there for me, who always listens, who can annoy the hell out of me, but who will always support me. That's what family is for. No matter what, I'll always have Rei-chan.'

_the end_

* * *

...Disclaimer: As usual, Sailor Moon and most of the characters ain't mine, but belong to Naoko Takeuchi. And God bless that woman for creating such great entertainment for all of us with a lot of free time on our hands to enjoy. The English dub belongs to DiC Entertainment and Cloverway, and I only thank them for bringing' it to America, nothin' more. But Kyodai Hino/Hino Kyodai, Tuxedo Inferno, Titanius, and Deanna Kokorono/Kokorono Meijin are MINE (in a growling voice). So, please don't sue me. I'm just a lonely man who ain't got anything but his pride. Well, y'all enjoy this fanfic and e-mail me.

Have fun Sailor Moon fans,  
Viper Inferno (Y2V)


End file.
